Guardian of The Forest
by Relic8
Summary: Set in the land of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 'Explorers' games, Guardian of The Forest tells the story of a driven Lucario whose childhood was spent in service to the famous Wigglytuff's Guild, and his seemingly endless struggle to protect innocent Pokémon from the once-fabled beings known as Humans, intent on capturing them and forcing them into slave labour in the villages.
1. Prologue

_(Authors Note which most will probably just ignore)_

Hi there, Readers and Writers! This Pokemon Fanfic of mine has been a small project I've been working on for - at the absolute least - three years, and I recently decided (obviously) that I've put it off long enough, and it's finally time to post it up somewhere. Over these last three-or-so years, I've tried to make it seem like a story you could actually see happening in the Pokemon world. I've tried to go for a darker tone that is somewhere between the games and the manga - but that said, this wont be as brutal as the aforementioned manga - no Charmeleon's will be slicing any Ekans' in half! Curse words are yet to appear, and are a matter I'm debating including or not, and despite the story itself being fairly dark, I have tried to give the characters a lighthearted/touching feel.

This is my first ever fanfic, so if there is any critique, please make sure it's something I can build off of. Tell my specifically what you dislike and maybe even suggest to me what I could do to improve it. If you simply tell me this sucks and I am the worst writer to ever exist, you will be plainly ignored.

This is Fanfiction, but I feel obliged to confess to you all that I do not, in fact own Pokemon, nor do I own the Pokemon (species) in this story, but I own their characters, the human characters in here, and this world I've created. I dunno if this story is even any good, but I DO know I've worked pretty dang hard on it, so I own it!

To the two people who took time to read this: Thank you kindly, you have commendable patience! Without further ado, here is the prologue to _Guardian of The Forest!_

* * *

 ** _The Beginning_**

 _Unthinkable millennia ago, there existed nothing. No world; No air; No life._

 _In this endless void of emptiness there was but a single egg, waiting to emerge and ultimately create the possibility of a future._

 _A world; the sea; lands; light; air. And above all: life. Life that soared through the skies, swam through the depths of the vast oceans, and ran across great plains. All forms of life – Sky-Roamers, Sea-Dwellers and Land-Striders alike – were of the same kind; the same species._

 _All life - however different - was of Pokémon kind, all of them developing and changing separately, but still one and the same._

 _As eons after eons of Pokémon life passed on, these changes becoming greater and greater, a change never recorded in history took place. The greatest 'evolution' to a Pokémon ever known;_

 _The knowing and willing choice to surrender the power that slept within it in exchange for another power;_

 _Superior intelligence. The mind to lead its kin to new prosperity; The mind to learn new ways from old and expand upon them, to grow as two separate species, side by side._

 _In this world, the potential of the two great Life Forms - Human and Pokémon - had seemed limitless. Pokémon had held the power to bring human desires to fulfillment, and in turn, the humans had protected and provided for their Pokémon companions._

 _Until, once upon these peaceful times…_

 _…_ **everything** _changed…_

 _A chaos no-one could have ever foreseen unfolded. And in its wake, all life upon the miraculous world began to follow the path to their own annihilation._

 _The world had begun to draw closely to an end._

 _Dreading what the future held, the great beings that governed the world's internal flow decided action must be taken. The three great governors of Time, Space, and the creator of the world itself awoke from what had seemed to be their eternal slumber._

 _And combined their powers to save both their world and all its life in the only way they could…_

 ** _Prologue_**

"What's going on here?!

Howl?!

Is that you?!"

Howl the Riolu jumped so sharply he felt as though he had shot right out of his skin.

How could she have found out?

Surely, he had thought, if he said his final farewells to everyone in the early hours of the morning, he would be able to leave without his partner knowing. But there she was, sprinting down the hill onto the sandy beach towards him from the other end of the crowd, pushing, shoving and knocking them aside until she stood directly before him, staring down in utter disbelief.

"What's going on here?" the Monferno asked again.

Howl did not respond immediately. He had never found it so difficult to meet her eyes before. But ever since that fateful day long ago, when she had evolved and he had not, she was somehow more like a mother, or a much older sister than his childhood friend. His best friend. His invaluable companion.

But there was no space in his mind to worry about that right now.

He was trying to figure out how to explain to her that he was leaving to do the exact thing she did not want him to do.

Luckily one of the Pokémon in the crowd – one who was their particular good friend - stepped in.

"Illume, what's the matter?" the Turtwig asked,

"Surely you know what's going on; Howl is leaving. He wants to leave Treasure Town for a little while so that he can evolve.

… He **_has_** told you, hasn't he..?" he added uncertainly.

"Howl!" piped up a familiar voice from out of sight, "You did tell her, didn't you!?"

"Of course I did," said Howl simply.

But his tone of voice coupled with the way he was now looking guiltily up at Illume made it perfectly clear she had not agreed to his desire to leave at all.

The crowd of Pokémon had become restless and fidgety. Some tried to divert the attention of others or looked determinedly away from one another, as though Illume was about to turn and start scolding them at any moment.

The Monferno looked back down at the Riolu and spoke in a voice that shook from repressed anger,

"So that's it, then?

 ** _That's_** what's going on here?

After all we've been through together, and after I specifically said 'no', you're going to leave me without so much as a good-bye?"

Howl couldn't bring himself to respond.

 ** _This_ ** was why he hadn't wanted Illume to know he was leaving.

He could not stand to have another heated discussion with her like this.

They were - and always had been - such close friends that they had almost never, ever argued, and when he had first brought up the subject of him wanting to leave in order to evolve, he had not expected her to deny him so forcefully. If anything, he'd expected the opposite; for her to wholeheartedly support this plan, to understand he had to do it alone, and to wish him the very best of luck.

A voice spoke from directly behind Howl.

"Illume," said Lapras, "don't say things like that… Of course Howl wouldn't leave you just like that. In fact, by the sound of it, he's already told you, hasn't he?"

"But I said **_no_**!" Illume retorted.

"But you can't stop him," said Lapras in his calm, measured voice, "He's already made up his mind. He's decided that he has to do this, and telling him otherwise is only going to make it more difficult."

"But… But it's ridiculous!" Illume burst out.

"What's ridiculous about it?" Howl asked, finding his voice at last.

"It's **_all_** ridiculous!" said Illume incredulously, "Howl, what's gotten into you lately? I understand you're upset, but this is just too far! You don't have to leave!"

But Howl shook his head slowly.

"Illume… I'm sorry, but you're wrong. I **_do_** have to leave. I can't stand the thought of slowing you down any longer-"

"You're **_not_** slowing me down!

You're **_not_** getting weaker!

And you **_don't_** have to evolve to become an adult!" Illume cut across him, raising her voice, "I told you all this the other day! So why is it still a problem?"

"It's a problem…" Howl implored, "because it's true. Illume… I **_am_** slowing you down.

You've got so much potential now that you're all grown up, and if I stay here like this, you won't be able to reach any of it.

There's only one solution: I have to grow up too."

"I don't care about potential! I don't want to lose you, Howl!"

"You're not losing me, Illume. No-one is losing anyone. I'm not leaving forever - there's no way I'd do that. It's just so that I can evolve," Howl said, and he felt a little more in-control now.

"Why can't you just stay here?! We could figure out why you can't evolve together!" said Illume.

But Howl shook his head again.

"No… I can't do that to you, Illume. This is my fault, **_my_** problem. There's no way I could drag you with me to who-knows-where, for who knows how long, just to solve a problem that's mine.

The Pokémon here need you."

"But **_I_** need **_you_**!" said Illume desperately, "Howl, if it weren't for you, I never would've evolved at all! Heck, I never would've joined Wigglytuff's Guild in the first place! I wouldn't be who I am… I'd still be a timid little girl too afraid to even stand up for herself… **_Please_** , Howl… please… don't…"

And he thought he could see the beginnings of tears in the eyes that he knew so well.

But he forced himself to smile up at her, and spoke so clearly that even those few who remained trying not to listen to them could hear.

"Illume… you're my best friend in the whole world. You're my irreplaceable partner, and Treasure Town is my home. There's no way I'd leave either of you forever. Once I evolve, I promise you - **_all_** of you," he added, addressing the crowd, "once I'm an adult, once I've evolved, I'll come back. I'll come home to everyone. I don't know how long that's gonna be, but I **_will_** come back.

So until then, please, just wait for me… all right?"

All eyes were on Illume and Howl. Everyone was silent and unmoving. Even the rushing waves seemed quieter.

Then, at long last, Illume reached up to her neck, untied the long, navy-blue scarf she wore, and held it out to him, without a word.

"Your lucky charm…?" he asked breathlessly.

She nodded. "Take it with you. If I really can't go with you, I want to make sure something to remember me by does. It'll protect you. Take good care of it."

"Ah-… I…" he began, but he couldn't finish. She was actually letting him do this! Breathless and shaking, he took it from her and began tying it in a double-knot around his own neck.

"No…" she said meaningfully, raising her hand, "You have to…"

She let out a small sigh and sank to one knee before saying, "Here."

And she lifted the scarf gently from his trembling grip and tied it up for him. He felt his cheeks grow warm suddenly, and fixed his gaze on the little of her hands he could see. When she was done, he looked up and said,

"Thank you, Illume… Thanks for letting me have my way."

She smiled down at him.

"Good luck, my friend. Be safe."

And they embraced.

Everyone in the crowd exchanged looks at one other. It was kind of funny: They were comrades in arms; they were partners; they were as close as it was possible for two friends to be, yet they looked like mother and child.

"Howl… are you ready to go now…?" asked Lapras gently.

Howl let go at last and turned sharply away, not wanting anyone to see his face.

Lapras turned gracefully in the water to offer his back to him, and not wasting a second, Howl shouldered the bag he'd received from the guild and clambered on.

"Well then… We're off!"

And they began to move slowly forwards, picking up speed, barely causing a ripple in the surface of the water.

The Riolu wiped his eyes hastily, took a deep breath, and looked back.

Everyone was waving. All the other guild recruits, all the traders, and all the citizens of Treasure Town were bidding him farewell.

"Good luck, Howl!" they called,

"Come back soon!"

"Grow strong, Howl!"

"Stay safe!"

"See you later, Howl!"

Gritting his teeth, he fought not to let a single tear leave his eyes and waved furiously back at them,

"Good-bye!" he called, for he could not manage any more words, "Good-bye, everyone!"

But it was only as the distance between them and the beach increased did he realise, with a terrible lurch in his chest, that he could not see **_everyone_**. His eyes scanned the beach desperately, but there was no mistake! The guild members were not there. What had happened? Had Bidoof forgotten to tell everyone? Did they not know that he was already leaving?

"HOWL!"

As if in response to his sudden panic, multiple shouts reached him from somewhere to his left high above.

He looked up.

There they were. All of them. All the esteemed members of Wigglytuff's Guild. Wigglytuff himself was there too, as was his right-hand Pokémon, Chatot.

Bidoof was there as well, so were Chimecho, Sunflora, Loudred, and all the others, waving down at him from the very edge of Sharpedo Bluff, and they too were calling similar words of support, of farewell, and of absolute assurance that when he returned, the whole town would celebrate.

That was too much for him to bear. His eyes burned white-hot and he wiped them furiously on his paw before waving franticly to the beach, to the guild members, to the beach again; and even though there were dozens of hands, wings, paws and claws waving back at him, even though Lapras was nearly reaching full speed, he still recognised the hand of the one he would miss most of all.

"Good-bye, everyone! I'LL MISS YOU!"

-he shouted as loudly as he could, before he and Lapras faded farther and farther away into the dawn-lit horizon.


	2. Chapter 1

**Part One:**

 **The Rota province**

 ** _Chapter One:_**

 ** _Many Years Later_**

The humans of Rota Village were all outside in the peaceful, perfect weather of the late-summer afternoon.

Nobody, young or old, could fail to enjoy sun's hot rays combined with the gentle, cooling breeze to ensure that no-one was too hot.

The people were busying themselves with the construction of the upcoming night's events and talking in cheery, loud voices.

Wagons pulled by Ponyta and Rapidash crisscrossed the village, bringing in decorations and lumber from the northern forests.

The villagers were so occupied with the preparations, so cheerful with the day's weather, that nobody noticed a solitary creature lurking under the shade of two close-together houses. As a wagon rolled by, and light from the steed's fiery mane filled the darkened space, the creature was briefly revealed:

A Pokémon; A Lucario, though quite young in age, it looked tough and battle-worn; with its body built strong, and a scar slashed down the right of its glowing, flame-red eyes.

It stood completely still and utterly silent, its gaze flicking from villager to villager.

The people were quite oblivious to Lucario's presence, but he much preferred it this way. The last time a 'monster' had unwittingly entered the village, there had been absolute pandemonium. Many of the weaker villagers had run wild, screaming about the village being under attack whilst the stronger, more capable villagers had taken up arms and tried to drive out the Igglybuff by force. It had taken much of Lucario's cunning and stealth to repel them whilst the Igglybuff had fled into the forest on the outskirts of the village, crying for its mother.

The villagers had tried, of course, to drive all of the Pokémon in the forest away in the hopes of taking it for their own, but mysteriously, when they had entered the forest, armed to the teeth, it had been completely deserted.

Until they had proceeded even further into its depths, when a deep, dangerous, frightening voice barely more than a growl had seeped its way into their minds.

 ** _"Turn back…_**

 ** _Leave this forest…_**

 ** _You humans have no place here…_**

 ** _If you dare to trespass any farther, I WILL strike you down..!"_**

That had been too much for the majority of them. Without hesitation, they had dropped their pitchforks and pot lids and gone back the way they came, half running, half striding, and glancing nervously for any signs of an ambush on their retreat.

Those who had remained behind and ignored the warnings of punishment had returned to the village much later on, also without their weapons, but with a very noticeable difference.

In fact, they had not **_returned_** to the village, they had been **_found_** the next morning, collapsed and unconscious in the middle of the market square.

The memory of their conditions still haunted those who had seen them that day.

No-one in Rota Village had ever seen anyone look so savaged. Their clothes had been covered in filth, sweat and blood; almost every exposed bit of skin looked as though it had been beaten or slashed, and it was clear that every one of them had sustained at least two broken limbs.

But to the villages intense relief, none of the damage had been permanent, and in time, all of them had made a full recovery (although they had been too afraid to leave their homes for weeks).

Naturally they had been pestered with questions: both on what had happened, and most of all, who the attacker had been. But none of them had been able to remember. "It'd all just started happening so fast," they had said.

One thing had been made clear, however: before the attack, the voice in their minds had spoken to them one last time.

 ** _"This is your final warning…"_** it had apparently said,

 ** _"Before this day has ended, you will be gone from this place. The only decision to be made is whether you will leave unscathed, or whether I shall have to drag your broken bodies out myself…"_**

One of the villagers - a hotheaded man named Garber - had apparently shouted back,

"COWARD!" at the top of his voice, "Who do you think you are, hiding and threatening from the shadows?! If you're so tough, SHOW YOURSELF!"

At these words there had been a sudden burst of light and an explosion directly behind the group which nearly knocked them over.

 ** _"Be careful what you wish for, human,"_** the voice had said calmly, **_"I do not want this to come to violence, despite what your kind has done to mine, so I will ask you again:_**

 ** _Cast aside your weapons and return to your homes_**."

"You don't scare us!" another man had shouted.

"Just TRY to drive us out!" said a third.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Garber had bellowed one last time.

Then there had been complete silence, a rustling in the trees above, a blinding flash of light-

and then the victims had absolutely refused to say anything about what had happened next.

The identity of the attacker and that mysterious voice were still unknown. Not one of the victims could remember who or what the creature had looked like, though one of them had been sure they'd seen a pair of glowing red eyes through his own intensely swollen eyes.

Ever since that memorable event, the villagers themselves had not dared to re-enter the forest, but had hired bounty hunter after bounty hunter to try and find the red-eyed creature and silence it, all of whom had suffered the exact same fate as the villagers, who had again questioned them on what the creature had looked like, but to their great distress, the bounty hunters' memories had been so muddled by fear and confusion that they too, could not remember – and those who **_could_** remember had given detailed descriptions that completely contradicted all of their predecessors.

In the end, Rota Village had given up any hope of trying to claim the forest, but had at least taken the liberty of placing a sign just outside of it saying:

'BEWARE THE DEMON OF THE FOREST!

EXTREME, LIFE-THREATENING DANGER

LIES DIRECTLY AHEAD!

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!'

"Oh, come on, you expect me to believe a word of that?"

said a woman's voice from just out of sight.

"No, it's true!" said a man's voice in response, "You've seen the sign, haven't you? Of course it's true. Ask **_anyone_** here and they'll tell you all about what happened that day."

"Assuming, of course, you haven't already told them what to say to me when I ask them," said the woman as she and her companion in a wagon rolled past Lucario's line of sight; just a little farther away from where he was hiding.

"No, no, no…" said the man whose face he could not see, "I swear it's true. There's this one guy here - I think his name's Garber - he can tell you all about the-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out in a skidding, scraping sound of wood on stone. The man's attention had been so focused on the woman sitting beside him that he had unwittingly steered their wagon straight into a large rock.

"YOU STUPID CREATURE!" he bellowed at the Rapidash who had been pulling them,

"YOU DISGUSTING MONSTER! YOU WORTHLESS VERMIN! How… HOW DARE YOU!?"

He then leaped down from his seat, stormed round to the back of the wagon, and procured a whip.

"Your kind should know your place by now, BEAST!" he snarled, all the pleasantness in his voice switching to pure malice.

Lucario's paws clenched as the man drew close to the Rapidash, which was squealing in pain on the ground. He had promised he wouldn't give himself away, he had promised that no matter what he saw, he wouldn't do anything that would put him in danger, but he **_couldn't_ ** just stand by and watch an innocent Pokémon suffer.

The man was bearing down on it, raising the whip high, and Lucario was a second away from dashing into the very centre of the village to stop him, when,

"Stop! STOP! What are you doing?!"- a hooded figure sped towards the scene and knelt down next to the Rapidash before the man could bring the whip down.

"It's HURT, you moron!" shouted the hooded figure in a male voice, "It's hurt because YOU steered it into THAT rock!"

"What the-?! Who're you?!"

The first man demanded, backing away and nearly falling over the wheels of his own wagon.

But the hooded man didn't answer him. His head was bent down and examining the injured Pokémon's leg.

In the midst of all the commotion, Lucario had just managed to slip back into the shadows before anyone could notice him.

"What's going on?-"

"-What's up with that wagon?-"

"-Who's that guy?-"

Lucario heard the voices, but did not risk peering out to see just who was speaking.

Then he heard the men's voices again,

"I asked you who you were, stranger!" said the voice of the man who had been holding the whip.

"I know, I heard you, and it's none of your business who I am!" said the other vehemently.

Lucario heard the Rapidash being pulled to its feet, and heard surprised, hushed voices talking to one another.

"What're you doing?" said the woman who had been sitting by the first man.

"It's hurt," the hooded man repeated curtly, and by the sound of it, he was unclipping the Rapidash's chains from the wagon.

"It needs to be treated."

"A wounded monster's no good to anyone!" said the first man contemptuously.

"Fine," said the second, "then I'll treat the wound and set it free."

"You will NOT!" said the first man indignantly, "Who do you think you are, kid?! You can't just stroll in here and try to take what's rightfully ours!"

"I thought 'a wounded monster was no good to anyone'," the hooded man quoted back impatiently.

"It's not," retorted the other, "but selling the thing will bring this village some fine cash! 'Treat it' if you want, but when you're done, you bring it back here, got it?!"

"Whatever you say, boss," said the second man, and he made a soft clicking noise with his tongue. "C'mon. C'mon now," he said, and Lucario heard the Rapidash begin to trot after him.

He caught a glimpse of them both. The man was wearing a large, earth-brown cloak, but as his hood was pulled up, he couldn't see his face. He was looking determinedly ahead and holding the chains around the Rapidash's neck, before they moved from beyond his line of view, and then he heard other voices again.

"Somebody get that wagon off the road! Come on, people, we've still got work to do! Let's move!"

Lucario peered out and saw a small number of villagers hurry forwards and begin to steer the wagon by hand. But he wasn't interested in that. He was far more interested in the hooded stranger.

Could it be?

Had he been right after all?

 ** _Was it possible_**?

He had to know.

So, making sure that no-one could see him, he scrambled up onto the straw-thatched roof and hurried along it in the same direction as the man had been going, crouching low to avoid detection.

Once he'd reached the end of the roof of the building he was on, he leapt swiftly and silently onto the next, and raised his head a little to see over the top.

He could still see the man, and there were a few villagers who were still watching him curiously, but at an order from a booming voice that seemed to be in charge of the preparations, they scurried away.

The man and the Rapidash headed out through the village gate and into the meadow beyond, and Lucario jumped lightly down from the rooftop and followed them stealthily.

Trying to remain hidden and keeping the man in view was becoming more and more difficult. Lucario had to keep his distance, for there was next to nothing close by for him to hide behind, and although this man intrigued him greatly, he didn't think it wise to let himself be seen just yet.

Suddenly the man stopped and turned sharply around.

But Lucario had been expecting this to happen at any moment now, and had already hidden himself by standing just out the man's line of sight beyond a tree.

After a moment's pause, he heard the sound of hooves again, and moved in closer to the tree to get a better view.

The man was heading away from the village in a direction which Lucario knew nothing of, as he himself had never been there.

After they had moved a little further ahead, he pursued them as quickly as he could, but then, out of nowhere, he heard the sound of more wagons approaching and ducked behind a dip in the ground just in time. The sounds of numerous voices and the contents of the wagons crashing against one another reverberated through his ears as they rolled slowly past.

Finally, when he was sure he was out of sight, he stood up from his hiding place and saw, to his great disappointment, that both the man and the Rapidash had vanished.

Where could they have gone?

He looked around hopelessly, but they were nowhere to be seen.

He knew that this was unwise, even dangerous, but he was profoundly curious about that man, and he wanted to see what he would do next, and if he really would return the wounded Pokémon to the village where it would continue to suffer.

He nodded to himself.

He **_had_** to know.

And so, closing his eyes, he began to search the Aura in the surrounding area.

The grass, the trees, and everything around him was cloaked in the deep, transparent, silver-ish Aura of nature. He directed his senses to the areas closest to him, but saw nothing conspicuous - no brightly coloured light.

The Aura was a spiritual essence inside of every living creature, whether they were a human or a Pokémon, as long as there was a conscious mind, and a quality that could be described as 'heart', then there was Aura.

A sudden thought came to him:

What would the man's Aura be like?

No matter how similar some of them may seem, all Aura's were completely unique. The colour and consistency of a being's Aura was, in fact, a reflection of their soul.

This ability to sense and determine Aura that Lucario possessed had been an incredible asset to him for a long time.

He could not think of a single moment when this gift had not been useful to him, and he treasured it greatly.

And then he had found him; he now knew exactly where the man was, and hastened across the meadow towards him, excitement and curiosity flooding him once more.

Of course he hadn't known from the start what the man's Aura had been like; he had only recognised the human shape it was enveloping. But he knew, without a doubt, that this was the man he was looking for.

For his Aura was a bright, clear, sky-blue.

Lucario slowed to a halt when he heard the sound of running water, and then after about a minute of heading in the same direction, he saw them - the man kneeling by a stream and scooping handfuls of water onto the Rapidash's wounded leg.

Lucario watched them silently for a moment. The Rapidash seemed to be recovering quite well, but after the third splash, it gave a squeal of discomfort and tugged at its chains which the man had tied to a tree.

Perhaps he didn't realise that Fire-Pokémon found water of mostly cool temperatures to be bone-chilling.

"It's okay…" the man said, "I'm almost done, hold still…"

And he fashioned out a cloth and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

"There you go…" he said quietly, standing up, "and now…"

Lucario couldn't believe his eyes.

The human was removing the chains and collar from around the Rapidash's neck, and was throwing them aside.

"You can go wherever you like," he said, "nobody's in charge of you anymore. You're free."

And he turned on the spot and began to walk away, but then he caught sight of Lucario watching him, and froze.

For perhaps a full minute, Lucario and the man stared at each other, and now Lucario saw his face:

The man was young, very young; only a few short years above adolescence, with neck-length black hair and dark-green eyes which had widened as they fell upon him.

Lucario's heart was racing, but he was not at all afraid of this human; he could overpower him in an instant if he wanted to, but he still felt strangely curious.

The young man held up his hands and started to back slowly away.

"I'm… I'm sorry," he said, and there was a noticeable tremor in his voice, "I'm in your territory, aren't I? I didn't mean to trespass, really!

Look, here are my hands, I'm not armed, and I'm going to leave right now.

So… please just let me go… okay?"

Lucario watched him unblinkingly until the young man had turned his back on him, then, at last, he spoke to him through telepathy,

"You are different from the others of your kind I've seen, human."

The young man froze on the spot.

"What was…? Who's there?!" he asked, looking around.

Lucario continued,

"You show compassion, and you seem to care about the lives of creatures besides yourself. I never imagined I'd see a human like that in Rota Village."

The young man finally looked back at the Pokémon, whose face remained blank and impassive, and said uncertainly,

"Did… Did you just…?

Was that **_you_** …?

Did you just…"

"Speak?" Lucario finished his sentence calmly.

The young man yelled out and staggered backwards in shock, and so great was this stagger that he tripped on the rim of his cloak and fell hard to the ground.

The Rapidash let out a great frightened cry and shook its head to left and right before turning and fleeing across the stream, splattering large clumps of water and mud onto the young man, who had flung out a hand and began to call,

"Wait!" But the fleeing Pokémon gave no sign that it had heard him, and before long, it was nothing more than a mere speck in the distance.

The young man looked back at Lucario, whose eyes had not left him. He seemed, if anything, even more afraid of him now that he had heard him speak.

Lucario began to approach him slowly.

"Please…" said the young man, backing away on his hands as the Pokémon drew close,

"Please just let me go. You won't ever see me here again. I promise I won't tell anybody about you. Please don't-"

"Calm yourself," said Lucario, in his deep, gravelly voice, coming to a halt directly beside his legs,

"I have no reason to harm you."

"You…" said the young man, his voice unsteady from shock,

"You can…?" His mouth moved soundlessly over the word 'talk'.

Lucario nodded, and offered his paw to the young man, who had at last stopped trying to get as far away as he could from him.

"What… You… You understand me?" he asked breathlessly, "You… understand what I'm saying?"

"I do," Lucario answered simply, still holding out his paw.

"But…" said the young man, "But you're a monster! How can **_you_** understand **_me_**?"

Anger flashed in Lucario's eyes.

"Monster…?" he repeated, his voice so low it seemed to shake the earth,

"I'm a 'monster', am I…?"

"I… What, y-you're not…?" the man stuttered, clearly aware he had said something to offend the creature.

The two of them were silent for a moment, then Lucario's outstretched paw returned to his side, and he grunted disgustedly.

"Typical. Arrogant. How very 'human' of you," he said,

"It must be so comforting for you to refer to us as monsters, even though you humans came to **_our_** world, oppressed and enslaved **_our_** kind, and forced us to do all your dirty work.

No. **_We_** are monsters. We are 'savage and dangerous beasts'. So that makes it all alright."

"I - What? - But-"

The young man was genuinely speechless. Twice he made an inaudible stutter that might have been an attempt at saying something, but Lucario had had enough. He was finished talking to this human. He was wasting his time.

He turned away and was about to leave, but the young man said desperately,

"W-Wait! Please, wait just a second!"

Lucario stopped and looked round.

The human was getting cautiously to his feet and looking puzzled.

"Have I offended you?" he asked, "You creatures aren't called monsters?"

"No, fool. No, we're not." Lucario replied.

"I-I'm sorry," said the human, "I don't know you by any other name - I didn't mean to offend you. And come to think of it, I guess it was kind of rude of me to call you a 'monster' of all things…

But what are you creatures called? If not monsters, what do you call yourselves?"

Lucario was silent for a moment. All of the sudden anger he had felt was beginning to cool.

"We… are called Pokémon," he said at last, "The creatures you humans refer to as monsters are called Pokémon."

"Pokémon…" the man repeated, closing his eyes as though making a mental note, "Pokémon. Not monsters. Pokémon…" Then he nodded and looked up.

"All right… Pokémon, I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't realise you wouldn't like being called a monster, and from now on I won't call you - or any other Pokémon - by that name again. I'm truly sorry to have offended you, and it won't happen again," he said, giving a small, apologetic bow.

Lucario gazed intently at the young man.

"All right then. Apology accepted."

"Thank you," said the young human, and finally, he reached up and lowered his hood.

"I'm Rowan. Rowan Jovani. I'm from the human land - but then, you already knew that. I've come here to see this land, to see what kinds of creatures there are here.

I'd heard that an entirely different race from us humans lived here, and I wanted to see if it was true…

Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled politely then, and held out his hand.

Lucario hesitated for only a second, then took they young man's hand and shook it slowly.

"A human traveller?" said the Pokémon interestedly,

"Well… that's new.

I was starting to think that the human race consisted only of hotheaded farmers and self-centred villagers.

Pleased to meet you, Rowan."

"Is that what you meant when you said I was different from other humans?"

Rowan asked, letting go of Lucario's paw,

"That I'm not a self-centred villager?"

"Not entirely, no," Lucario replied, "I was referring to the way you helped that Pokémon pulling the wagon.

You may not have realised it, but she was very grateful to you. And when you set her free, she was thanking you almost profusely."

"It… She was?" said Rowan skeptically, brushing away the last remains of mud off his tunic.

"Yes, indeed she was.

In fact… why **_did_** you help her?"

"Why? ...Oh, I don't know, I just... I thought I should."

"You thought you should? Or you don't know?" Lucario persisted.

"I… Ah-" Rowan sighed and shrugged hopelessly, "It just looked like she could do with some help. That guy was going to… y'know… and it wasn't even her fault. I couldn't just let that happen…"

"Is that so? How kind of you.

But then, why did you set her free afterwards?"

Rowan sighed again, and almost laughed in his discomfort.

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Because I'd like to know."

"Yes, but **_why_**?"

"Because I've never seen a human do anything like this before."

Rowan opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it again.

They were silent for a moment, then Rowan said at last,

"I… I set her free because I didn't want her to suffer any longer. She hadn't done anything to deserve what she got…

When I'd first heard of the discovery of an entirely different breed of being, along with a whole new continent, I… I thought that this was incredible news… I thought that these beings and humans would… maybe live together, or something. But when I came here and saw the way they were being treated, I…

I could barely comprehend what I was seeing."

Rowan's gaze fell to the ground. Lucario was watching him closely, listening to his every word.

He continued,

"It's just like you say… This isn't our world, it's yours. And even though humans are the aggressors here, we still call your species 'monsters'.

But that one - that Pokémon - wasn't a monster. I wanted to save her from all that… I wanted to save her from a lifetime of being treated like she was just some... **_thing_**."

A long silence followed these words. Lucario could hardly believe what he was hearing. Surely he had to be dreaming.

A human who cared for Pokémon as equals?

One who actually saw the injustice behind how they were treated in places like Rota Village?

The idea felt so outlandish and unreal, and yet it also felt so incredible.

Lucario couldn't help but smile. He had been right.

Rowan looked up at last and said,

"There. Now you know why I did it."

Lucario blinked as though coming out of a trance, and, still smiling, said,

"Thank you for telling me that, Rowan. It seems not all humans are like the ones I've seen before.

Perhaps even…" But he stopped there, for he'd just noticed something.

"Perhaps even… what?" Rowan asked curiously.

"Nothing…" said Lucario. He looked up over his shoulder and saw, as he had thought, that the sun was beginning to set.

"Well, Rowan," he said, turning back to him,

"it's been a pleasure to speak with you, but I have to leave now. Perhaps we'll see each other again someday, but until then, good-bye."

He had only taken a few steps, and had only just prepared to break into a run when Rowan had called him back again,

"Hey, wait!"

Lucario sighed and turned back around.

"What?"

Rowan hurried towards him.

"Where are you going?" he asked, slightly breathless, "Isn't this your home?"

"No," Lucario replied, "my home is… somewhere else."

"Is it nearby? Is it close to Rota Village?"

Lucario eyed him warily.

"Maybe," he said, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well…" said Rowan awkwardly, hesitating, glancing here and there, scratching the back of his head,

"I was just wondering if…"

He paused again, then shrugged, and went on a little slowly,

"I've never really… well, **_spoken_** to a Pokémon before. I mean, I have tried to communicate with them a few times, but the closest thing to an understanding I've gotten is them looking at me weirdly, and that's not really much progress."

He paused again, and Lucario waited silently for him to continue.

He got the impression that Rowan wanted to ask him something, but was too nervous or embarrassed to do so, and meanwhile the day was drawing to an end. Lucario needed to hurry.

"You see…" said Rowan, trailing off again, until Lucario could not bear it any longer.

"What is it?" he asked, with a note of impatience in his voice, "I don't have time to waste right now. If you've got something to say, just say it."

Rowan looked surprised, but noted what had been said, and went recklessly on,

"Okay, see, there's a friend of mine who lives nearby - she owns this tavern - and I was planning on visiting her tonight, and I'm sure she'd love to meet you.

And… And I don't suppose you're… well, hungry, are you?"

Lucario's eyes widened slightly.

"Are you inviting me to dinner?" he asked sceptically.

"Well… yeah, I suppose. I am."

Lucario's mouth opened slightly, revealing four long, pointed fangs.

"Just hear me out!" said Rowan in response to the Pokémon's look of stunned disbelief,

"You don't have to come if you don't want to; it's your choice, of course.

It's just… Well, like I said, I've never spoken to a Pokémon with the impression that they know what I'm saying to them, and I know **_you_** understand me.

This is a rare opportunity for me to talk, and ask questions, and of course, for you to as well.

But if you're uncomfortable with that, then I understand. It's your choice."

Lucario's expression shifted from disbelief into a thoughtful frown.

"Hmm…"

He looked back into the sunset, which was creeping behind the distant mountains, and pondered.

"So…" said Rowan after a minute, "what do you say?"

"It is an… interesting offer," said Lucario vaguely.

"You don't have to decide right now," Rowan continued, "I'm planning on heading there tonight.

How about this; I'll come back here when I'm ready to go, and if you'd like to join me, we'll meet up here and go together.

How's that sound? You go do whatever it is you need to do, and if you're still interested, you can come back here."

Lucario nodded, not entirely aware of what he was doing, and said, even more distantly, "All right… that sounds… agreeable."

"Great," said Rowan brightly, "Well, 'bye then."

"Right…" said Lucario, and giving the human one final look of great perplexity,

he began to sprint away, not looking back or responding as the young man called,

"See you later! Maybe!"

Lucario's mind raced as he ran across the meadow. What had just happened? What was he doing? Was he just being foolish? Naïve?

He slowed down a little so that he could gather his racing thoughts and contemplate them.

Was he doing the right thing? His head spun.

For nearly four years he had been protecting his friends from the brutality of Rota Village and from humans in general, and now he was being invited to dinner by one of the very same creatures? Ridiculous.

He slowed to a walk as familiar shade spread across the ground at his feet,

and looked up. There, directly ahead, was The Forest, its great large trees motionless in the sunset.

Lucario stopped, only to briefly read the sign at its entrance.

'BEWARE THE DEMON OF THE FOREST!

EXTREME, LIFE-THREATENING DANGER

LIES DIRECTLY AHEAD!

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!'

He chuckled, and wondered just what everyone would think if they knew that the Demon of The Forest had been invited to dinner with a human.


	3. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two:_**

 ** _The Tavern & The Dream_**

 **Everything around him was completely silent.**

 **He was alone; isolated even, and walking along a narrow path in the dead of night. He could barely see where he was going, but knew, not by memory, but by some instinct that by following this path he would eventually reach his destination.**

 **For minutes that felt like hours, he walked on and on, the sky becoming brighter all the while.**

 **In the dim light, he could just make out his surroundings.**

 **There were trees everywhere. Small trees, large trees, fruit trees.**

 **As many as the eye could see, and more behind them. However, this place was no forest.**

 **There was only one place Lucario had ever known with all these different breeds of trees grouped together like this, and as the result of a certain incident, he had hoped he would never have to come back here again.**

 **He wanted to leave. He wanted to run. He wanted to get as far away as possible, but he couldn't. His own legs were out of his control.**

 **"No…" he pleaded, willing himself stop moving,**

 **"Please don't do this… Turn back, please… just turn around…"**

 **But still he walked on, and now in the endless stretch of darkness behind him, the sun was beginning to rise.**

 **Something ahead had caught his eye; something ahead was gleaming, reflecting the light of the dawn.**

 **He felt a shudder of recognition pass down his spine.**

 **The 'something' was a small golden bell tied by a tiny length of red string to a sign.**

 **Even at a distance, he recognised that sign. He had passed by it hundreds of times when he had still been a child. When he had still been a Riolu.**

 **And then something bright appeared in the shadows beyond the sign.**

 **It looked like a tiny orange speck of light, visible only because of the surrounding darkness. But as he drew unwillingly closer, it began to spread, it began to grow, it reared up white-hot, blazing towards the sky.**

 _It_ **was fire.**

 **Now the fire was spreading even further. Lucario could now see just what was burning: The firelight had revealed what looked like the remains of a destroyed tent. Not just one, but two. Not just two, but four. More and more wreckage was coming into view. Even as he watched in terror, more tents in the distance were catching fire.**

 **And then; he heard a voice.**

 **But it was faint, and had a strange echo-like quality, as though the one who owned it was speaking from a great distance away,**

 **"-wl… w..e up…!"**

 **"Go away…" Lucario groaned,**

 **"leave me alone…"**

 **"..ey! c'mon, wake up!"**

 **Then, suddenly, Lucario felt a force to his right and fell over sideways, hitting the ground hard, and when his eyes had opened again, everything had changed.**

He was not lying on his side anymore, but reclining against a fallen tree's moss-covered trunk, and the sky was not becoming steadily brighter, it was pitch-black again.

And he was not alone anymore, either. He could feel a hand at his shoulder and hear a voice whispering in his ear.

"Howl, come on! Wake up already!"

Howl let out a heavy groan, rubbed his eyes, and sat up.

"Finally!" said the Pokémon who had woken him, jumping down from the trunk and landing right beside him with a soft thud.

"Who is it? What do you want?" Howl asked, squinting down at them through the darkness.

"It's me, Bolt," said the young Emolga, still speaking in a whisper,

"Sorry to wake you up so late, boss, but something's up."

Howl sighed, and rubbed his eyes again. It was so dark and his eyelids were so heavy that he felt as though he might fall asleep again at any second. But he mastered himself and fought to stay awake.

"What do you mean something's up?" he asked finally.

"Humans," Bolt breathed.

"What?!" said Howl sharply, his fatigue vanishing in an instant as he leaped to his feet, "Humans? Now? Where are they?!"

"Easy…" said Bolt backing away as the Lucario towered over him,

"There aren't a lot of them, there's just one."

"Oh, another bounty hunter, is it? Where are they?!"

"It's… It's outside," said Bolt nervously.

Howl stared down at him, completely perplexed.

"Outside?" he repeated blankly, "What do you mean **_outside_**?"

"Just… outside The Forest."

Howl sighed as relief swept over him.

"Bolt… you don't have to wake me up for things like that. Unless a human is actually **_in_** The Forest, we don't need to worry about them," he said, sitting back down and closing his eyes as his heartbeat slowed to normal.

"But, sir…!" said Bolt desperately,

"This one's kind of worrying me! It won't go away!"

"What?" he replied, opening his eyes again.

Bolt continued,

"I was asleep, just minding own business, when I woke up and thought I could see something under the moonlight. I looked out from my tree and I saw a human just standing there, staring right into The Forest."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah," said Bolt in a hushed voice, "It's just standing there, looking all creepy. Honestly, I'm starting to think humans are **_trying_** to scare us."

"Is it still there?"

"I don't know. I think so. I didn't know what to do, so I came to find you.

Look, boss, I'm really sorry to bother you with this, and I wouldn't ask, but do you think maybe you could… I dunno, do something about it? Please?"

Howl thought for a moment.

"If it's not trying to get inside The Forest, it's not a threat to us," he said.

"Yeah, I suppose, but **_still_** …" said Bolt, a note of genuine anxiety in his voice.

Howl looked up into the starlit sky and wondered just why any normal human would be out so late just to look at a forest obscured by night.

Perhaps they were lost and thought that The Forest might be an ideal place for them to rest. But no, he reflected; that couldn't be it. If that were the case, they would surely have gone inside to seek shelter under the trees. Why then, were they not moving?

He shook his head wearily.

"All right…" he said, getting slowly to his feet, "All right, I'll go and look. Where did you see them?"

"It was hanging around that sign the villagers put up.

Thanks, Howl, I **_really_** appreciate this!"

He shrugged grudgingly.

"You should find somewhere else to sleep tonight, but you'll have your tree back by tomorrow morning," he said. And with that, he began to make his way towards the village-end of The Forest.

He met no disturbance along the way. Everyone was asleep, and only the rustling of leaves in the wind made even the smallest of sounds. Howl found his mind drifting repeatedly towards the dream he'd had, but he pushed the thought aside determinedly. There was no point in lingering on past regrets that would only cause him great pain.

He began to walk a little faster through the pitch-black trees, taking the grassy path that was completely devoid of any sharp twigs or nettles, and listened intently for any signs of human presence. But he heard none.

He turned left through a quiet, verdant clearing where the snores and murmurs of other sleeping Pokémon could be heard.

Past an orchid where berries and other fruits had been carefully planted together.

Around the great bountiful lake in the very middle of The Forest.

Through the trees where the Bird-Pokémon slept.

And at last to the very edge of The Forest, right before where a solitary human was apparently lurking.

He stopped, and squinted through the darkness. He couldn't see anything. It was taking a while for his eyes to adjust, so, almost instinctively, he closed them and began to scan the Aura around him. And at once he saw a light directly ahead and leapt out of sight behind the trees.

Bolt had been right. There **_was_** a human. And it was still there. It still had not moved. Why?

Howl tried to focus his Aura Senses on them to determine who it was, but his vision was somewhat obscured by the tree's Aura, and while this would not have normally been a problem for him, it was much more difficult to distinguish Auras when his mind was so hazy. If he was going to see the human, he'd have to do it without anything in the way.

Slowly and quietly, he crept out into the open, crouched low as an extra precaution before scanning, concentrating, waiting, and at last identifying:

The Aura was blue, bright blue, and as pale as a cloudless sky.

The human was Rowan.

For the second time that night, he felt relief sweep over him like a breath of cool wind in the middle of summer.

It was only Rowan.

The Forest was not about to be infiltrated.

There was nothing to worry about.

He breathed deeply and relaxed his every nerve before looking up again.

He could tell by the peculiar shape that Rowan's Aura was currently taking he was bent to one knee, perhaps trying to read the sign in the dim light the moon gave him. He could only assume that had been the reason, for he had barely even thought it when Rowan stood up, turned, and began to walk in the direction of Rota Village.

It was at this moment that Howl, his mind muddled from lack of sleep, remembered how he knew this human, and what had been said, and what had been arranged.

He began to feel uncertain as he watched the blue light gradually move farther away.

Suddenly the idea of talking and eating with a human - in a tavern that could possibly be quite far away from where he was needed - seemed less than appealing to him now. In fact, it seemed to be quite a risk to take, one he was not sure he should be taking.

But then he remembered why he had even followed the human in the first place.

He had seen him save another Pokémon's life.

He had seen him set that Pokémon free.

This human was not like the ones in Rota Village.

This human was trustworthy. His Aura was proof of that.

And in truth, Howl felt he had already made up his mind about the matter anyway. He had made up his mind ever since he'd returned to The Forest.

He waited until Rowan had gone a little ahead before following after him; because if Rowan knew that he lived in The Forest, that would only create more questions, and the less Rowan knew about him specifically, the better.

As he had done that afternoon, though without the worry of remaining unseen, Howl kept his distance from the human, keeping him in sight at all times whilst wondering how best to reveal himself. He didn't want to alarm him, though suddenly appearing at night was bound to take anyone by surprise.

But he needn't have worried, for Rowan seemed to have sensed somehow that he was not alone, and suddenly stopped. Howl slowed to a halt as well, and watched as the pearly-white waves that rippled through the Aura with every beat of its owner's heart became more luminous, and began to stir more rapidly.

"Hello…?" Rowan's voice called into the night. Howl hesitated to respond.

"Hello?" Rowan called again, starting to sound a little uneasy.

And at last Howl found his voice and said, quite nonchalantly,

"Hello."

He heard Rowan gasp and saw a gigantic wave zip through his Aura like an electric shock.

"Wh-Who is it?! Who's there?!"

"It's me, the 'monster' from before."

"The…" Rowan began uncertainly, then, "Oh! Oh, right! It's… It's you!" and Howl heard him give a little sigh of relief, and saw the white waves – which had momentarily been bright and jagged – begin to slow down to a reasonably calm heart rate.

"Uh, where are you?" Rowan asked after a brief pause.

"I'm nearby. From where I'm standing, I can see you quite clearly."

"You're nearby… where, exactly?

Could you come closer? I can barely see…"

Howl's vision fogged for a moment as his senses returned to normal, and once his eyes were opened again, he walked towards the place where he knew Rowan to be, listening carefully and straining his eyes.

"Is that you?" came Rowan's voice a few steps ahead of him, "Hold on a second."

Howl saw Rowan's shadowy outline fumbling for something at his belt and then quite suddenly, a light appeared.

"Ah, there you are," said Rowan, holding the lantern up a little higher,

"I was just on my way to meet you. Have you decided yet? Would you like to come and meet Sally?"

"Sally?" Howl growled, narrowing his eyes in the sudden burst of light,

"Is that your friend's name?"

"Yeah," said Rowan, realising the Pokémon's discomfort and lowering the lantern again,

"The tavern's not that far from here. If we just follow this path and turn right at the crossroads, we'll be there in no time. So what do you say? You coming?"

"If the offer is still open, then yes."

"Great!" said Rowan happily, "Well, let's get going then."

And with Rowan leading the way, they began to head back along the path in the direction of The Forest.

"How did you find me so soon?" asked Rowan after a minute of silence.

"I was already on my way to where we'd arranged to meet," Howl responded,

"I just happened to notice you as we passed by."

"Notice me?" Rowan said confusedly, "How? Can you see in the dark?"

"No," Howl replied patiently, "I just heard the footsteps of a human and slowed down to listen. I thought it might be you, and when you stopped and called out-"

"-Ohh, I see-"

"-I recognised your voice."

"Right, right. So you'd made up your mind pretty early on, then?"

"I suppose so. I didn't see any reason not to accept your offer."

"What about your territory? Are you done patrolling? Will it be safe for tonight?"

Howl thought for a moment before responding,

"Yes… My home will be safe for now."

Rowan looked at him a little more closely, then he queried,

"Are you…? I don't suppose you live in The Forest, do you?"

Howl shook his head.

"No. I live somewhere else."

"Oh," said Rowan, sounding slightly crestfallen, "Where… Where do you live, then? If you don't mind me asking."

Howl met his eyes with a firm, but calm look.

"I'm afraid that is a secret," he said flatly.

"Okay, sorry."

"Don't apologise, you haven't done anything wrong."

"OK, good, thanks."

They were silent for another minute. Howl could tell that they were nearing The Forest again, and he thought for one brief moment about simply going back when Rowan was not looking. But no. He couldn't turn back now, he had made up his mind. All he could do now was keep on going and hope he was not making a mistake. And if, by chance, it turned out he would regret his decision…

'Well,' he thought, 'I'll just have to deal with it there and then.'

Rowan's voice interrupted his pondering,

"So… Again, if it's okay with me asking."

Howl looked at him to indicate he was listening.

"Do you live with anyone else? Or are you alone?"

Again Howl thought for a moment before responding, and decided that this time it could be a risk for him to tell the truth.

"I live on my own," he said.

"Really?" said Rowan, "You live alone, but somewhere around here?"

The Lucario gave him a withering look.

Rowan said hastily,

"No, no, I wasn't asking you where you live again, I was just wondering why you'd choose to live alone. Don't you know about the Demon of The Forest?"

Howl pretended to think carefully, then responded,

"Yes… I'm aware of the one humans call the Demon."

"So…" said Rowan slowly, "Surely you could stay in The Forest, couldn't you? Uh, not that I think – I-I'm not saying-."

"Yes, I understand what you mean," said Howl, "and I did consider it when the Demon offered to take me in… but I respectfully turned down the offer."

"You refused the Demon's offer? Why?"

Howl shrugged in a mildly-interested sort of way.

"I saw no reason to become a burden, and I've always been able to take care of myself."

Rowan seemed to be reasonably satisfied with this answer, and fell silent again to look ahead and focus on navigating through the near-total darkness.

Howl didn't enjoy having to do this; he did not believe in denying and concealing the truth from others, but he knew that if he were to prevent Rowan from asking as many questions about him as possible, he himself would have to be as uninteresting as possible, meaning that he would have to make it appear as though there was little background to his life, an uncertain future, a solitary present, and that his only true concern was to keep himself alive and fed.

He would have to be dull in short.

After following the path for a while, the two came to the point Rowan had mentioned where the road forked, and they turned right, as mentioned. Howl caught a glimpse of the sign in the flicker of lantern-light, but had not had time to see the words written upon it. Feeling slightly disappointed, he looked round and saw a little cluster of lights in the far distance ahead of them.

He could only assume that those lights were of the Tavern that they were going to. He felt reassured by this knowledge; he hadn't even realised how worried he'd been that Rowan might lead him much farther away from The Forest than he'd expected, but now he would be able to find his way back with ease.

Another minute passed, and then another, until at last Rowan seemed to decide it was time to break the silence.

"Are… you OK? You're being very quiet," he said, peering sideways.

"I'm fine," Howl replied, "You don't need to worry about me."

"Oh, I'm not worried, I just thought maybe…" The rest of Rowan's sentence tailed away, until he finally seemed unable to stop himself from saying,

"You know, for the first Pokémon that's ever spoken to me before, you're not very talkative, are you?"

"Nope."

Rowan stifled a laugh. And then almost at the exact same moment, the two of them shifted a glance in each other's direction and each saw an inclination of amusement on the other's face; and in the precise instant that their eyes almost met, they felt a tiny flicker of understanding pass between them.

They continued along the path without exchanging another word, which suited them both.

"Okay, here we are," said Rowan, after what had felt like half an hour of silence,

"Luna Tavern."

Howl looked up. Ahead of them was a large cabin–like building two floors high. Two pairs of windows were placed on either side of the front of the main building opposite each other, and in-between the windows was a humble–looking arched oak door. The second floor was even more humble-looking; just a small window on either side of the roof in similar placements to the windows below, and there was even a balcony in place to support a second arched door in-between the windows.

Overall, the building looked simplistic, but had a very rustic charm that was welcoming even in the eyes of a Pokémon. Just looking at it gave Howl a warm feeling he'd not known in years.

This place reminded him of somewhere he had known years ago.

Rowan's voice broke through his ruminations.

"Hang on…" he murmured, creeping up towards one of the glass windows and peering inside.

"Oh… This could complicate things."

"What is it?" Howl asked, joining him by the window.

"There's a lot of customers. I thought it would be pretty empty at this hour…

This won't do. Sally's business would be ruined – or even worse if people started saying she lets monsters into her tavern… What can we do…" Rowan muttered, speaking more to himself than to anyone else. He closed his eyes for a moment, apparently deep in thought, until eventually he said, with an air of mixed uncertainty and optimism,

"OK, this could work," And he untied his cloak from around his neck and draped it over the Pokémon, doing up all the fastenings in an attempt to conceal his body completely, and pulling the hood as far over his head as it would go.

"Let's see…" said Rowan, standing back to examine his handiwork.

It was not quite the effect he'd hoped for. The cloak managed to conceal Howl's feet and body, but the hood was hindered from hiding his face by the fact that his ears lifted it just high enough. But Howl had noticed this, and before Rowan could say a word, he pressed his ears down as flat as he could.

"Nice!" said Rowan, pulling the hood forward again to cover his muzzle,

"That should do the trick… maybe.

Now, just follow me as close as you can."

"All right," said the deep voice in Rowan's mind, as clearly as ever.

"Oh, and try not to make eye-contact with anybody," Rowan added.

"That'll be easy."

"OK…" said Rowan, standing up and moving towards the door, "Ready?"

-and, drawing a deep breath as though trying to calm himself, Rowan pushed open the door.

At once the sound of raised voices, talk, laughter, and the clinks of glass and cutlery resonated clearly from beyond the open door.

Rowan made to step inside, but almost instantly he recoiled and said apologetically,

"Whoops! 'Scuse me," and made urgent hand movements to the Pokémon - telling him to back out of sight immediately. Howl stepped back beyond the window as a rather groggy voice from out of sight responded,

"Agh, no problem, kid."

Then came the sound of heavy footsteps. Rowan moved to one side and held open the door so that whoever it was who was leaving would look towards him, and once the sound of their feet had moved past, Howl looked up to see Rowan signaling him closer.

"Ok, let's go," he whispered, stepping through the tavern door. Howl followed after him, keeping his head down in an attempt to hide his muzzle, and closing his eyes, enabling his Aura Senses.

'A lot of customers' was accurate. The tavern - which was much larger than it had looked from the outside - was crowded. There were only six tables in the main room, but each and every last one of them of them was occupied by at least more than three people. The air was thick with Aura that seemed to part in the middle of the room, so that to Howl, it looked like there was a corridor of multi-coloured haze leading all the way from the front door to a door right at the other end of the room.

Swiftly - but not so much that it would draw attention - the young man and the hooded figure walked through the tavern, the people's voices drowning out their footsteps. For a moment, Howl thought they would be able to pass through without anybody even noticing them, but he'd barely so much as considered this when he saw a small number of Aura-silhouetted heads look towards them, and saw the waves within their Aura's curve inwards slightly.

"Hang on," Rowan muttered out of the corner of his mouth, under the noise of the other voices, "We're almost th- Aah! Careful!"

With no warning at all, someone with an Aura of dark olive-green had detached themselves from the multi-coloured haze and bumped into the Aura of sky-blue that was Rowan, which in turn made Howl stumble on the rim of the cloak. He thought for a moment that his feet may have been briefly revealed, but surely no-one had seen amidst Rowan's hasty apology.

"So sorry, m-my mistake!" came an unnaturally high-pitched male voice from the green Aura.

"Don't worry about it," replied the blue.

As they moved aside to let the green Aura pass, Howl thought that the point of the spike on his forepaw may have dragged against the passing person, but they had not seemed to notice, and he and Rowan were moving a little more insistently to the door now.

Howl's heart was beginning to race. More and more Aura's waves were curving inwards, indicating wariness and apprehension, and the waves were beginning to glow ever so slightly more strongly, reflecting the strength of those feelings; and Howl did not know how much longer it would take for them to reach the end of this cursed room. Just when he was beginning to worry that if they were not **_detected_** , they would still at least be **_suspected_** , there came a rap of knuckles on wood directly in front of him.

"Just a minute!" said a woman on the other side. Rowan seemed to be feeling somewhat nervous himself, for he'd not waited a moment before rapping his fist on the door again.

"All right, all right! I'm coming!" said the woman indignantly.

Howl turned his Aura Senses towards the voice and felt a great leap of surprise.

The woman's Aura was gold. A bright, glowing, brilliant gold.

The handle turned and clicked. The door opened.

"Rowan!" came a joyful voice, and there was the sound of a tight embrace as the two Auras met. Together, they made a clear aqua-blue.

"Happy to see you too, Sally," said Rowan as the two let go of one another.

"Come on in! I've set a table in here for you especially!"

They were led through the door and into a room with a soft carpet beneath their feet and where a fire could be heard crackling in a corner.

The door swung shut behind them, and the noise beyond was silenced.

"Rowan," said the woman, and the Pokémon could tell by the sound of her voice that she was looking at him, "Who… Who's this?"

"Well, um, Sally," said Rowan, and Howl could also tell by the tone of his voice that he'd not told Sally beforehand he would be coming with anyone else,

"you, uh… remember those letters I sent to you when I arrived at the port town?"

"About your 'theory'? Yeah, I remember…"

"Well I, uh… I've found something - I mean - I've met someone who… um…"

"Rowan," said Sally in a voice that pleaded for sense and yet demanded answers,

"I've been pretty tolerant with you over the years we've known each other,

but **_please_** … please tell me you **_haven't_ ** gone and brought a monster into-"

Howl's head had been turned towards the door at that point, still scanning the Aura beyond it, but at these words he turned his eyes - opening them as he did so, and looked at the woman, and the first thing that she saw beneath the hood was a pair of glowing red eyes behind a long black muzzle.

"Sally…!" said Rowan, as the woman buried her face in her hands and made a muffled, exasperated moan.

"Sally, don't worry! This one is okay! We can trust-"

"Rowan… **_why_**?" said Sally in a muffled voice, her fingers curling so that her eyes peered out from over her knuckles.

"W-Well, why not?" asked Rowan desperately, "You said so yourself, you wished people were kinder to them!"

"Keep your voice down!" the woman snapped angrily,

"Rowan, I'm sorry, but this is just too far! You don't have any idea what this creature is like! It could be dangerous - It certainly looks dangerous!

"Sally-" Rowan began, but she cut across him,

"-And if people found out about this, I could lose my tavern and my home! The both of us could be-"

And finally Howl spoke,

"I'm not going to cause trouble."

Both Rowan and the woman named Sally fell silent.

Howl reached up from under the cloak and began to unfasten the rope-buckles, ignoring the woman's intake of breath at the sight of his arms. He pulled the cloak off, and, with a glance of warning, tossed it to Rowan who caught it in mild surprise.

"You have my word," Howl finished, addressing the woman before him.

He saw that Sally - like Rowan, was very young; though perhaps a year or two older than him, with cropped blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Wha…?" she whispered, taking a step backwards, her hand clutching her chest, "It can… Did it just…"

Wearily Howl sighed. This was starting to become tedious already.

"Yes," he said, "yes, I can speak. Shocking, isn't it?"

The woman backed away even farther, staring at him wide-eyed. The recent flush had left her cheeks completely. She was pale as smoke.

"How…" she said at last, addressing Rowan, and she was so breathless she could barely form an audible sentence,

"How did you find…? Where did you find..?"

"Well," said Rowan, as he moved to drape his cloak around one of the nearby armchairs, "I didn't really find him. In fact, it was kinda the other way around. He's the one who found me."

" ** _He_** …?" Sally began, but then the shock seemed too much, and she had to sit and recover in one of the armchairs.

The Pokémon gave a small laugh,

"Well," he said to Rowan, "she's taking this better than you did, at least."

Sally gave a shaky exclamation of incredulity. Her expression was faint, her hands trembled, and her eyes swept back and forth from person to Pokémon until she finally shook her head, clearly unable to think calmly or coherently, and spoke in a hushed voice,

"A monster… **_here_** ; in **_my_** tavern… **_talking_** to me…"

"Sally," said Rowan, with a nervous glance sideways,

"They - He doesn't like being called by that name, they're not called monsters."

Sally looked up at him slowly, and Howl said,

"The species you humans know as 'monsters' already have a name for ourselves. That name is Pokémon. Not monsters; Pokémon."

"Right, what he said," said Rowan, and he moved over to where Sally had sank and crouched down until he was face-to-face with her, and smiled reassuringly.

Sally swallowed hard and looked back at Howl, who returned her gaze stolidly.

"It's okay…" said Rowan, reaching forwards and closing his hand round her wrist, "He's not going to hurt us. You're not going to hurt us, are you?"

Howl shook his head and said, "No, I'm not."

"See? He says he won't, so there's no need to worry."

Sally took a moment to gather herself before responding,

"I'm not… not **_worried_** ," she said, and it was true that she sounded a lot more composed now, "I'm just… shocked." She drew a deep breath and was about to continue speaking, but then there was a knock on the door.

"Hello? Miss Luna?"

Sally leapt out of the seat at once and strode over to the door.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, opening the door just enough to see and be seen through.

"Are you feeling alright, miss? You're looking rather…pale," said the customer disquietingly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Sally in a remarkably steady voice, "What was it you wanted me for?"

The customer asked whether a particular drink were available, and Sally said, "Hmm, I'm not sure if I've got that, I'm afraid. But I'll go and have a look." And she moved a little through the door, mouthed, 'Be right back' over her shoulder, and closed it behind her, leaving Rowan and Howl alone together.

"Well…" said Rowan, looking awkward and rubbing the back of his neck, "that was… Well, it went better than I thought it would, actually."

"You didn't tell her you'd be bringing a monster, did you?" Howl asked, his expression full of sardonic amusement.

"Well, no," said Rowan, "If I had, she would've asked me if I'd finally gone **_completely_** crazy, and then she'd have told me to take a little walk to think about my life choices."

Rowan's gaze moved absentmindedly towards the closed door, and Howl looked around the room, taking in every detail.

The room felt very cozy. The only light was that of the fire beside the small round table with its plush armchairs on either side of it, and various sweet-smelling candles which had been placed in every corner of the room. Tapestries with peculiar designs were hung on the walls here and there; above the fireplace and beside the windows, and there were curious little cases on top of the mantelpiece of the hearth.

More out of genuine interest than actual need for something to do, Howl moved over to one of the corners to sniff at the candles. He caught a different type of scent from each separate one, all of which had been so carefully arranged beside one another that when the smell blended together in the warm air above, it was so strong he could almost taste it. He moved along to examine the tapestry on the wall, and became aware that Rowan was watching him. He ignored that, however, and continued to study the curiously woven pattern on the tapestry. It looked like a kind of symbol. A maroon circle filled the very centre with an earth-brown colour encircling the outskirts of red, and when the earth-brown circle reached the top, bottom, left and right ends of the two circles, large columns of what looked like gusts of wind extended out in a plus-sign fashion, going on and on until they stopped at what seemed to be the decisive end where the lines curled inwards, around and around. The pattern looked strangely familiar to him, and for that reason alone, he was enticed to know more about it.

He asked, "What is this symbol?" and looked back at Rowan, who had tried to hide that he'd been watching him by turning his gaze back towards the door at the last moment. When he spoke, he gave a false start of surprise.

"I-I'm sorry, what?"

Howl indicated the pattern on the tapestry and asked a second time,

"This symbol. What does it mean?"

"Oh, that! That's not a symbol. Sally made that herself."

Howl frowned slightly and looked at the pattern more closely.

"Did she?"

He was sure he'd seen that pattern somewhere before, he was convinced of it, but he didn't want to press the matter or it would seem strange, and in any case, there was more for him to examine. He put the thought to one side and moved over to the hearth.

The cases on top were made of a thin, flat wood about as wide as his paws, and they were arranged neatly from left to right – smallest to largest, and it made him curious as to what could be inside. He picked up the smallest of the cases on the left-hand side, and he was about a second away from opening it, when Rowan spoke suddenly,

"Waitwaitwait! Hold on a moment!" he stammered, moving forward with his hand outstretched.

"What?" Howl asked, completely bewildered.

"Sorry, but what's in those boxes are kind of precious to Sally. It's not your fault, but I think it'd be best if we just left them alone."

His tone was not at all accusatory, and Howl could tell that every word was sincere.

He nodded, "…All right then," and put the box back in its exact placement beside the others.

"How about we sit down?" said Rowan after a brief pause.

He sat down in the chair which he'd draped his cloak around, and Howl sat down opposite him.

The two of them were silent for over a minute. Now that the time had come to actually make conversation, it was much more difficult than either of them had thought it would be. The fact that they were of two completely different species made it no easier.

"Sooo…" said Rowan after yet another minute of silence, until Howl decided that this was going nowhere very, very slowly, and that he did after all, have some questions for Rowan, so throwing courtesy to the winds, he cut across Rowan's sentence (even though there had been a prolonged silence at the point where he'd interrupted).

"How long have you been here for?" he asked, "In our world," he added when Rowan looked puzzled.

"Do you mean 'you' as in 'humans'?" he asked.

"No, I mean you specifically."

Rowan thought for a moment, "Hmm… Well, I arrived at the port town about… two months ago, I think. And I've been travelling for about a week, so not that long actually."

"Travelling?"

"Yes, travelling. See, I didn't have a lot of money with me when I arrived. I had to work at some of the shops and such in town just so I could eat. But eventually I'd saved up enough money to buy the things I needed and headed out as soon as I could. The minute I was ready to leave that town, I left before any of them could call me back."

"Why? Were you were in a hurry?"

"Nah, not really, I'd just made a pretty bad reputation for myself there.

…And when I say bad reputation, I mean **_bad_**. As in the 'if I didn't leave first, they'd have driven me out anyway' kind of bad."

Howl had been about to inquire more, but then there was a knock on the door and Sally came in laden with glass and cutlery.

"Aren't you two lucky? I don't usually serve food and drink to customers for free," she said, placing the tray on the table and laying out the contents,

"But seeing as it's you, Rowan, I can make an exception."

Rowan smiled up at her. And just as she was lifting the empty tray off the table, he opened his mouth to ask something.

"Depends, **_do you_** have the money to pay for it?" she said sharply before he could speak.

"W-Well… no, Sally, you know I don't, but-"

"Then the answer," she said, "is no, Rowan. I'm afraid you can't."

"Aw, come on, Sally!"

"I said **_no_**. And that's final," she repeated.

"Sally! It's been ages since we last saw each other, and you'd make me sleep out there in the wilderness?"

"Yes, actually. Considering that you decided to bring a monster in here, without my permission, and without any warning whatsoever, I think I have the right to refuse to babysit you for the night.

And if I recall correctly," she added before he could argue,

"you said so yourself in that last letter that you'd been sleeping out in the wild for days, and that it **_was_** difficult - but you could manage."

"I was hinting…!" said Rowan incredulously, but Sally said quite flatly,

"Yeah, I know. You were being really subtle…"

"Unbelievable. Any normal person would feel sorry for me."

Sally shook her head and sighed.

"Rowan, I'm sorry, but this is business. The tavern has never been so busy before; all the rooms have been booked, and unless you're planning on getting me to ask one of the people who's already paid for one to leave, I'm afraid there's just no room here for you."

And she carried the empty tray over to the door, opened it, and just before she could leave, Rowan said hopefully,

"What if I just sleep- "

But before he could even complete his sentence, Sally glared over her shoulder and said stoutly,

"NO!" – closing the door behind her.

"Unbelievable!" said Rowan again, staring after her at the door.

A small 'clink' of glass made him look round.

Howl had been watching the two of them with a mixture of awkwardness and wry enjoyment, but once Sally had left, his attention had turned to the things she'd brought with her, and after briefly examining the bottle, he had poured himself a glassful of the water within.

"Oh! Sorry!" said Rowan, looking slightly ashamed, but not for long, however.

Rowan had seemed to think that the Pokémon would need an explanation for how the simplest of things - like a bottle full of water – were used and for what purpose, but his expression changed almost at once from one of slight shame to surprise and wonder.

"How…?" he began as Howl took a sip from the glass.

Howl looked at him over the rim of the glass before lowering it.

"What?" he said.

"Did you just… I dunno - figure that out, or something?"

"Figure what out?"

Rowan hesitated for a moment, started to speak, but then seemed to think better of it. He shrugged and said,

"Forget it," and poured himself a glass of water.

A few moments later, as Rowan was lowering his glass, something caught his eye. He had seen something gleaming in the firelight; something on the Pokémon's face. He leaned forward a little.

Howl, whose eyes had been on the fire, saw what Rowan was doing and looked back to him.

"What is it?" he asked.

Rowan didn't answer right away. He still seemed uncertain. He tilted his head a little to the left and squinted. Eventually he sat back in his seat and asked conversationally,

"I don't suppose… you get into a lot of fights, do you?"

Howl couldn't help but stare.

"What do you want to know that for?" he asked.

"Well…" The young man raised a hand to own face and pointed, "you've got a scar… just here," and he drew a diagonal line with his finger from the inner-end of an eyebrow to the side of his cheek directly across his right eye.

Howl felt his breath catch.

"I suppose I do," he said shortly.

"Where did you get that one?" Rowan asked eagerly.

But Howl's face had closed. He didn't want to talk about it. And Rowan, knowing better than to ask, shut his mouth at once.

There was another knock on the door, and Sally came in holding a sheet of paper.

"The food menu," she said holding it up and walking towards them,

"It's not exactly extensive, but…" She held it out to Rowan, who, by the expression on his face, hadn't even noticed she had entered.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Rowan," said Sally with weary scorn, "You're not actually sulking, are you?"

Rowan blinked and looked up at her.

"Sorry, what?" he said.

She rolled her eyes and thrust the paper at him.

"This," she said, "This is what."

"Oh. Right."

He lifted the paper out from her grasp, but he'd barely even looked at it when he said, with an uncomfortable glance towards the Pokémon sitting opposite him, "Sorry, I just… I'm gonna go wash my hands."

"Wash your hands?" Sally repeated as he stood up and moved past, determinedly avoiding their eyes, "Rowan, you haven't even-"

But the door had closed before she could complete her sentence.

"What is **_wrong_** with him?" she asked incredulously.

Howl gave a small sigh.

"That may have been my fault," he said to the woman, choosing to ignore the little jolt she gave when she heard his voice.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you," she said when she saw him sitting in the armchair. He shook his head dismissively and she turned round to face him.

"So, you're a…" she paused for a moment then asked politely, "Sorry, what was the word again?"

"Pokémon."

"Pokémon! Right, that!" she said, as if he were an old friend who had just helped clarify a snag in her mind.

"Pokémon…" she repeated, testing the sound, "Is that a word in your language? Have Pokémon always called themselves that?"

"I suppose so."

She smiled sweetly, and he was almost tempted to smile back, but he controlled his expression.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" she asked after a moment.

The Pokémon was surprised, for he had not at all imagined Sally would be quite so courteous to him.

"No, I don't mind," he said, and she seated herself in the chair that Rowan had so recently occupied.

As she sat down, he happened to notice that the menu had remained untouched on Rowan's side of the table, and again a simple curiosity took hold of him. He reached for it and began to read.

"Sorry, there's probably not a lot of things a Pokémon would eat on there," said Sally, "but even so, you'd be OK if I just served some water and fruit, wouldn't you?"

"Hmm…"

He waited a moment before responding, his eyes scanning the menu one last time before he held it out to Sally and said,

"What is this? 'Iced Apple juice' what does 'iced' mean?"

"The - What?" Sally began, and, seeing what he was pointing to on the paper, her eyes widened.

"You… Wait, you can **_read_**?!"

"Yes, I can-" he stopped there because he'd just realised something. He had made a grave mistake. He should not have revealed to Sally that he understood how to read human words at all. No other modern Pokémon would have been able to read their words - at least, as far as he knew, and certainly not as far as Sally was aware. He had made a mistake and there was no way for him to rectify it. He'd have to tread more carefully and be sure to avoid making another.

Sally leaned back in her chair looking dumbstruck, she gave an odd little pant and she clutched the arms of her seat.

Howl sat still and waited for her to recover, thinking his next words through very carefully.

"Hold on… Just… slow down for a minute," she said at last,

"You, the first Pokémon who's ever given a clear understanding of the words we're saying to you are now saying that you're able to communicate back to us, **_and_** read our language?"

Howl thought for a moment, then said, "Yes. That's correct."

"Um… ooo-kay.

Excuse me for asking if it's rude, but how is it that **_you're_** able to speak to humans? That is, speak to, and read our words, and… all that?"

Howl tried to think of a satisfactory answer, one that would immediately slake Sally's curiosity.

But he could not.

In the end he shook his head and was about to reply, but before he could, she said quickly,

"It's not a big deal. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine."

"Yes," he said, "I'd rather not… I have my secrets."

"Heh. Yeah, I'm sure you do," she said, smiling at him in a lighthearted manner.

It was a moment before Howl realised that Sally was not simply being frivolous out of polite desire to make him feel welcome; she was genuinely interested and enjoying herself. She then continued to ask him as to how he and Rowan had met, and he told her of how he had witnessed Rowan saving the wagon-pulling Pokémon from her cruel oppressors, and how he had followed Rowan out of the village to the point by the stream when Rowan had set the Pokémon free, and when finally, he had realised that he was not alone.

"And he… what, invited you to **_my_** tavern just like that?" asked Sally when he had finished.

"Not quite so… spontaneously," Howl replied, "But his offer was courteous, and I had reason to believe he was trustworthy, so I saw no reason to refuse."

"Yeah. When he wants to be, Rowan can be quite-"

But whatever Rowan could be, Howl never knew, for at that moment the door had opened again and Rowan himself had returned.

"Well, you took your sweet time, didn't you?" said Sally, as soon as the door was closed. "Yeah…" Rowan replied, "Yeah, sorry about that."

Sally stood up and offered the chair back to him, and Rowan looked from one to the other.

"Did you two talk while I was out?" he asked.

"Yes," said Sally at once, "You didn't think I'd just leave him in here all by himself, did you?"

"It's all right, Sally," said Howl. He knew she was trying to make Rowan feel guilty after his unruly exit, but he could tell that was quite unnecessary.

Rowan approached the table, and said apprehensively,

"Hey, I'm sorry for asking you about your scar earlier. I'm not really sure why I did. It was a stupid thing to do."

"You don't need to apologise," Howl replied.

"Thanks, really, but still…" Rowan insisted, "I should have realised it wouldn't exactly be a fun thing for you to talk about, I was just…"

"Making conversation. I know."

They were silent for a moment, then Rowan said again,

"Sorry."

Howl rolled his eyes.

Sally smiled at the two of them and said,

"Well, you two seem to have sorted… whatever that was out. If you'll excuse me, I have other customers to attend to," and she made her way towards the door. As she neared it Rowan said,

"Thanks, Sally."

"No problem," she replied, "It was nice talking to you, er…" She stopped and looked round, "Sorry, I'm… not sure I got your name."

"Hey, that's right…" said Rowan, "What **_is_** your name?"

Howl looked from one to the other and saw the same curious expression mirrored on both faces. He hesitated.

Was it safe for him to tell them his name? They had both been very friendly, true, but he hardly knew anything about them. Were they truly trustworthy enough?

Then he remembered; of course they were. He **_knew_** they were.

"My name is… Howl."

Rowan and Sally looked at each other with eyebrows raised, then back to him simultaneously.

"That's…" Rowan began, but Sally said quickly over him,

"That's a nice name. It suits you."

And she turned the door handle before her,

"I'll be back when I've finished with the other customers. Nice to see you again, Rowan."

And she paused for another moment before saying,

"It was a pleasure to speak with you… Howl."

Then she left.

The rest of the evening passed by very smoothly. Half an hour or so later, Sally returned, breathless and tired with notebook and pencil in hand and took their orders.

Rowan - after his own reaction to Howl reading - ordered two Iced Apple juices for them, and a soup for himself, whilst, after much pondering and many questions, Howl asked for the simple fruit salad.

Sally returned after five minutes with their drinks and then went to prepare their meals.

Howl drank his almost at once, knocking back the glass so quickly he almost choked on the ice cubes.

Rowan, however, after a mere two sips had placed his drink back on the table, looking slightly nauseous.

When their meals arrived, it was late and Sally had an exhausted, bedraggled look about her as she came in with their food, and left hurriedly without so much as a word.

"It can't be easy for her, running this whole place by herself," said Rowan in response to Howl's questioning look.

When the two of them had finished their meals, they sat back in their chairs and waited comfortably for Sally to return.

At last the door slid open and Sally walked dazedly into the room, rubbing her eyes, heavy with tiredness, and leaned back against the door, yawning.

Rowan stood up and offered her his seat, which she took with gratitude, slumping into it and resting her head in her hand, perched on one of the arm rests, and closing her eyes.

Rowan started to say something, but Sally spoke across him in a voice that for all its tiredness was still coldly determined,

"No, Rowan. You can't."

"But you don't even know what I was going to say!" said Rowan, smiling hopefully.

"Yeah, I do. I know you too well," Sally replied, opening her eyes and sitting up straight.

"Worth a shot…" Rowan muttered.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" she asked across the table. Howl managed a nod and smile, for he himself was feeling tired.

Sally rubbed her eyes again and yawned for so long it seemed she might never stop.

"Well…" she said at last, "Sorry to bring this up at short notice, but it's closing time now, and if you don't have a reservation, then you have to…" she broke off and rubbed her eyes again.

"Sally," said Rowan quickly, "why don't you take the day off tomorrow? You're exhausted."

"What, and refuse to make breakfast for all the people who stayed overnight? I don't think so," she replied.

"Okay, how about this: if I can spend the night here in this room, then I'll take care of all the morning customers and you can rest up for the day? C'mon you can't refuse **_that_**."

Sally groaned.

"You just don't give up, do you?" she said, but shook her head helplessly. She was too tired to argue.

"Oh, fine, **_fine_**! I surrender! You can spend one night here - but that's it! If you stay here in the future - and, knowing my bad luck, you almost definitely **_will_** \- you're going to have to pay me the money, all right? No honeyed words, no shifty deals. Just. Plain. Money. "

Rowan wrapped his arms around her head and pressed her close to him as he could.

" ** _Thank you,_** dear Sally!" he said as sincerely as though she had just saved him from drowning.

"Oh, get off me," she responded, swatting his arms away.

The click of the door made them both jump and look round.

"Hey!" said Sally, standing up at once, "Hold on! You can't just leave like that!"

Howl looked back at them both.

"I thought it was closing time," he said.

"It is," said Sally, moving over to the side of the room and pushing a tapestry aside, "but you can't leave that way, you could be seen. Here, hang on."

And after the sound of two bolts being dragged back, and the turn of a handle,

another door opened up.

"Take the side door," she said, holding it open for him.

Not wanting to waste time, Howl strode forwards.

"Thank you both," he said once he was outside, "Thank you for this. It was interesting to sit and talk with humans for a change."

"Well, that feeling's mutual," Sally said, "Can you find your way back from here? Will you be alright?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," he said, and glanced over her shoulder to see Rowan joining her at the door.

"Good-bye, Howl," he said, and then hopefully, "Will we… see each other again?"

"Who knows?" Howl replied, "I have my home to protect, as you know. Will you continue with your travels?"

"I don't know, probably. I was thinking of going back to that village - Rota Village next to look for work, but I'm not really sure what I'll do next. To be honest, I don't really plan out where I go, I just kind of make it up as I go along."

He blushed suddenly; he knew ought to have ended his monologue a sentence earlier.

"How… bold."

"Well," said Sally, "Howl… you… you'll always be welcome to come back sometime, if you like."

Howl had been wondering if she might say something like that, and when she did, he felt his insides leap with pleasure.

"Thank you," he said.

And he turned and ran away into the dark of night, heading for his forest home.

He could still hardly believe it.

All this time - after all this time - he had been **_right_**.

He had been right to keep his word. He had not been foolish to hope it was true.

It seemed that there **_were_** humans in the world who **_could_ ** be trusted.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three:**_

 _ **The Lake**_

The gentle, early-morning breeze swept through the trees, along the grass, and sent ripples across the lake. The clouds up high parted dreamily, and the sun blazed into the heart of The Forest.

Occasionally the water gave a gentle murmur as a single Pokémon swam in a graceful breaststroke from one end of the lake to the other, sometimes above its surface, sometimes below it, casting the whole area into complete and total calm. Once the Pokémon was nearing the centre of the lake, it plunged further below, not stopping until it had reached the very bottom of its depths where the roots of the most peculiar tree in the entire forest were anchored firmly into the earth.

The Pokémon let out some of its breath to examine the roots more closely, feeling the bark, dragging its claws along the surface to test its resilience.

The tree was old and strong, and its leaves hung in elongated strips, similar to that of a willow tree, but that was not the reason why it was peculiar.

Its roots and trunk were submerged in water while its branches lingered above it, reaching out in a wide circle, hiding the tree behind a curtain of yellow-green leaves.

Howl resurfaced, breathing in deep gulps of air before he struck out for the opposite bank.

The water was crystal-clear, clean, and pleasingly balanced between cool and warm. Many rumours were passed about between the forest-dwelling Pokémon as to how the lake remained so clean; for no matter how many Pokémon swam in it, no matter who drank from it, there was not ever a trace of filth within the next morning. It was as clean as if it had never been disturbed at all.

The most popular theory that was discussed between the forest-dwellers was that somehow, the tree was what cleansed the water, and that as long as the tree was alive and healthy, the water would remain safe to use. There was no real evidence to support this rumour, but it was by far the most believable. Even the Guardian felt it held some truth.

Eventually Howl reached shallow waters and reclined against the bank, breathing in deep, slow breaths.

He looked out across the lake at the great tree, his mind lingering on the recent night's events.

He was deeply troubled. He had never questioned his own cause before. His motives for protecting The Forest were true and firm: Too many Pokémon had suffered terribly even before the arrival of the human race; too many Pokémon had lost their homes; too many had been driven into this forest seeking the protection of the Guardian over the last two years alone. That reason was true enough, yet what was this uncertainty?

It was strange to think that barely hours ago Howl had left Sally's tavern with feelings of great relief and reassurance, and even some small amount of pride, and yet now he was faced with deep apprehensions and complex questions he could not find the answers to.

He tried to bring his frustrating thoughts together, tried to separate them into sections so he could pass his judgment on them with clarity.

He knew for a fact: Sally and Rowan were good, trustworthy humans.

'Define trustworthy,' a thought in the back of his head pleaded, but he forced it back and concentrated on the point again.

Sally and Rowan were trustworthy… because they were good, kind people who did not hate him simply for being a Pokémon.

That was why - he told himself - he had deemed them trustworthy in the end. He had followed Rowan because he had seemed to show some sympathy towards the Pokémon race, and because his Aura had indicated the traits of one who could be trusted. He knew without question that he had been right to do so. Which led him unwillingly onto the next of his doubts: his own classification of a 'trustworthy' human.

Could it be, perhaps, that Sally and Rowan were no different from the people of Rota Village? That was not to ask if they were as cruel as the villagers, but to ask if the villagers were, in fact, as much good people as they were? And that the only difference between them was the villagers brutal treatment of any race other than their own?

Howl had to close his eyes and think for a moment before tackling this idea. If he was being completely honest with himself, he had looked deep within the Aura of this villager or that from time to time, and every now and then he had been surprised, even hopeful by the result he'd seen. But then, always, they had ended up being no different from the rest of the village. Their attitudes and treatment towards Pokémon being just as despicable as the last human.

"And that is why…" he concluded, opening his eyes, "they are not like Rowan and Sally. They…" he paused briefly, "They… _**choose**_ to hate us. They choose to treat us the way they do in that village. They fail to understand us through sheer ignorance and lack of effort, whilst Rowan and Sally try to respect us. Maybe the villagers aren't truly bad people, but the fact that they choose to see themselves above us simply because of their own ignorance proves that they're not exactly good people either."

That was a good deduction, and it gave him assurance. He felt the haze in his mind lift gradually until he was presently at ease.

A light breath of wind passed over his face, and he welcomed it too, because the morning sun was hot. He laid his head on the grass and closed his eyes again, listening to the profound silence all around.

Distantly he heard a voice in his head. A voice he knew well.

"Honestly, Howl. I don't know why you'd even consider being sympathetic towards those villagers. What they've done is unforgivable, and you've done everything in your power to stop them. So why not just leave it at that?"

He smiled.

"I know, I know…" the voice said, or would have said if its owner had been at his side, "Good old 'noble Howl' has to see the skirmish from all angles before he can pass judgment."

The wind battered his face again, and silence rang through his ears once more. He felt his heart sink as the realisation fell upon him again:

He would never hear that friend's voice again. Never see her bright smile, and never share a wonderful memory with her again.

He was alone.

Always alone.

 **He ran across the path, wading in-between the flames and called out desperately the names of his friends. There were no responding voices.**

" **Anyone?!**

 **Is anyone here?!**

 **Can anyone hear me?!"**

 **Each of these shouts was echoed across the sky, but it was just his own voice he could hear, repeating his own words back to him. Again and again.**

 **He slid under a gap in a particularly large wreckage blocking his way across the bridge - but to his horror, he did not stop sliding! The surface of the bridge felt unnaturally wet and oily. He slid farther and farther until he skidded to a halt on the ash-covered earth, then he turned sharply over to face the bridge, and what he saw made his breath catch in his lungs and his heart seem to fail.**

 **The small, flat, wooden bridge was soaked crimson.**

 **Everywhere he looked around him there were signs of battle, destruction and devastation.**

 **He straightened up and drew a deep, calming breath, but panic and terror were threatening to engulf him.**

 **What had happened while he was gone?**

" **Somebody! PLEASE!"**

 **He knew that it was pointless to yell, knew that if anyone had heard him, they would have surely called back.**

" **ANSWER ME!"**

 **He fell to his knees and clutched his head. It could not be true! It was not true! They** _had_ **to be here! They had to be alive** _somewhere_ **!**

 **And then it came to him.**

 **The only place he had not yet searched.**

 **The only place where they could all be.**

 **The place where it had all begun.**

 **He turned his eyes towards the cliff by the town entrance, his very last hope.**

 **They had to all be up there in the guild. It was the only place they could all be. It was the very last hope he had, and he was going to cling to it until he was forced to let go by cold, hard, undeniable proof.**

 **He scrambled up again and began to hurry back towards the cliff, blasting aside the rubble in his path with the newest Move he had learned: Aura Sphere, the blood thundering though his mind as he ran.**

 **Whatever had happened here had been terrible, and most of all; it had happened recently.**

 **He felt his insides ache with shame. The one time he had not been there to help was the time he had been needed more than ever before.**

 **He was back by the town entrance again, bent over and clutching his throbbing stomach.**

 **After the pain had eased a little, he looked up directly ahead, and despite his entire being shaking with grief and shock, he still felt a reminiscing shudder pass through him.**

 **Right beside the bell-tied sign was a watering hole filled to the brim, apparently undamaged during whatever had transpired. He could not remember ever using it, but he had passed by it as many times as he had done with the sign, and just the sight of it filled him with memories.**

 **He moved forward and turned to his left.**

 **The cliff seemed to stretch on to an unfathomable height, reaching towards the sky whilst the carved-in stone steps seemed to carry on for miles and miles, so that both distance and height were defied as one.**

 **Howl braced himself for the task ahead, and as though in sympathy with him, he felt the wind at his back urging him forward.**

 **He** _had_ **to get back.**

 **Back to the guild.**

 **Back to everyone.**

 **He had to find out what had happened.**

 **But most of all, he had to ensure that no-one was…**

 **Something stirred beside him and he heard the sloshing of water.**

 **Was it the watering hole…? No, it sounded much closer than that.**

 **He turned his head to the right, and in the precise moment when his surroundings were obscure, everything changed all at once.**

He was no longer standing before a great cliff, covered in ashes and dirt; he was sitting in clean, cool water, and the sun was shining down onto his face.

Then he heard the noise that had woken him again. The sound of something dipping its head in water to drink, and judging by the size of the sounds being made by… whatever it was as it gulped and sipped, it was someone small.

Not pausing to think, Howl opened his eyes and found himself staring directly into the sun. He grunted and slapped his paws over his eyes, sitting bolt upright and groaning in anger.

He heard someone spluttering beside him, apparently due to the fact that they had inhaled a lot of water when he had awoke so suddenly.

He blinked hard behind his paws and rubbed his eyes for a moment before looking towards the source of the noise.

The sun had thrown a great burst of light into his eyes so that for a moment, the shape and size of the Pokémon next to him was all he could make out, but then he heard a voice; a child's voice.

"Sorry…" they said, backing away meekly, "I-I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to wake you up…"

Howl knew that small voice.

"Pip…? Is that you?" he asked, setting himself on the bank and looking down at the little figure.

"Oh…" said the little Eevee, his voice full of disappointment and worry,

"Yeah, it's me… I'm sorry, Howl, sir. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's all right, little one," said Howl, rubbing his eyes again with his sodden paws.

'Little one' was what Howl called all of the child-Pokémon of The Forest, and there were many of them. Pip, however, was not familiar with this nickname and looked puzzled and slightly affronted.

As there were many children in The Forest, it was natural there were just as many adults. Some were related and some were not, but every so often, there came a sad, terrible case when a Pokémon had made it to The Forest alone, and bearing the news that they had originally been with friends and family.

Pip was one of those cases. Not only had he lost his home to a terrible tragedy years ago, but barely months previously he had lost both of his parents directly at the hands of Rota Village.

Together, Pip and his parents, an Espeon and Flareon, had struggled through the most treacherous of environments, wriggled their way past countless humans, and lived off the land's plants and herbs until at last they had found their way to The Forest.

They had been on the verge of crossing the plain and entering their safe haven when they had been attacked out of the blue by a group of villagers on their return journey home.

Pip's father had told him and his mother to run whilst he lured their attackers away. They had made it into The Forest, and as soon as Pip's mother had explained what had happened, a search party - mainly comprised of Bird-Pokémon and a small section of land-walkers led by Howl - had immediately spread out and searched for Pip's father. And for some time, it had seemed that their trials were over, and that it was time for them to wait and hope.

A few nights afterwards, however, Pip's mother had slipped away to the very edge of The Forest until Howl had intervened and called her back.

Her face had been rigid with sorrow and wet with tears.

She had told him that she could not bear to stay in The Forest while Pip's father might still be alive and in danger.

She had told him that she was an incompetent mother, and that the parent Pip had always looked up to had been his father, and although Howl had assured her that they would search for him again when morning came, she had still refused to return with him.

The two of them had argued with passion, until finally Pip's mother had declared,

"Guardian…! Please understand why I have to do this. Pip will be safe in The Forest, under your protection, but as long as his father is gone, he will be miserable - even more so when he is with me…"

"Don't be ridiculous," Howl had said with a note of impatience in his voice,

"He will not be miserable when he is with you. You're his mother! If you leave him here, a child among a forest full of strangers, _**then**_ he will be miserable! His own mother abandoning him in the dead of night will not bring happiness to anyone!"

Silence had passed between them for a moment, then she had smiled at him, a sad, wise smile. The very same smile he had worn for Illume so long ago.

"Guardian… you are far kinder than one would expect… But you mustn't leave this forest. You are needed here, you must protect the Pokémon who live here.

Please understand that _**I**_ must do this. Not for me, but for Pip. I would give anything just to see him happy again…"

and with no warning whatsoever, she had turned and ran out of the shade of the trees and onto the moonlit meadow.

"No! STOP!" Howl had made to chase after her, yet he had barely stepped out into the moonlight himself when his way was blocked by solid, inflexible air.

Pip's mother was a Psychic-Type, and had used her power to create an impassible barrier. Howl had struck and beat at it as hard as he could, but all that had happened was that a burst of light had sprung from the point where he had struck, illuminating where the barrier was, but as he had tried to move around it, she placed it back in his way again. Finally he had thrown all of his strength down on the barrier and had managed to lodge his fist in place.

Pip's mother had turned slowly to face him, her pink fur shining brilliantly, and said very clearly,

"Tell Pip I love him… and that I'll come back soon. And when I come back, we'll be a happy family again…"

And then, as quick as a heartbeat, the barrier had been dropped.

Howl fell hard to the ground crushing his arm against his ribs. He had only been dazed for a second before he had pushed himself up. He had raised his head to see where she was. And his eyes had seen nothing ahead but the wide stretch of darkness. No-one running out of sight; no noise of feet scurrying away. The silence had been immense. And she had gone.

Howl had clenched his paws and gritted his teeth, fighting to stop himself from roaring into the night.

He had wanted to chase after her, wanted to abandon his place at The Forest and find her. He had wanted to make Rota Village pay for what it had done, wanted to destroy it entirely.

But what he may, or may not have done then, even he did not know.

For there had been a rustling in the bushes behind him, and as he'd listened more closely, he thought he had heard someone crying.

Back in the present at the lakeside, Howl asked,

"What are you doing here up so early?"

"U-Um…" Pip hesitated, "I… I was just getting some water. Miss Mist asked me to."

Howl looked round, and sure enough, there was the bucket that had been obtained from the village so that food could be rinsed and washed before mealtimes.

"She also told me to be careful not to wake you up… Sorry, sir," said Pip, lowering his ears in shame.

"Don't worry about it," Howl told him,

"I'm actually glad you woke me up. My sleep wasn't exactly peaceful…"

And as Pip's eyes darted up to him and back to the ground again, Howl realised something: This was the first time the two of them had spoken to one another since the night Pip's mother had run away.

And then another realisation came to him: This was also the first time he'd so much as seen Pip since then. He had looked for him from time to time, but not thoroughly, and he did not know what Pip's Aura was like, so that had left him somewhat stranded.

He tried to make eye-contact with the Eevee again, but his face was fixed determinedly elsewhere. Eventually he turned his gaze away as well and looked across the lake, watching the sun shine into its own reflection.

"Sir…?" said Pip eventually.

Howl looked back and said,

"Yes? What is it?" Preparing himself to be asked something about Pip's parents, or perhaps one of the questions children usually asked him.

Pip hesitated briefly, cast his gaze around here and there, and asked finally,

"Can you… Can you teach me to swim, please?"

"Excuse me?" Howl replied, completely caught off guard.

"I saw you swimming earlier," Pip went on, starting to blush, "and you're really good. So, I was just wondering if…"

"Don't you know how to swim?"

Pip's cheeks flushed even warmer as he shook his head.

Howl stared at him, perplexed.

"My dad never liked the water," Pip went on, "So I couldn't ask him to teach me, and my mum…" But he broke off at the mention of his parents, and his ears and tail drooped slightly.

Howl pretended not to notice.

"Well…" he said, thinking his answer through.

This was not the first time a child-Pokémon had asked him to teach them something. The children of The Forest were deeply in awe of him, and almost half of them had requested to be taught by him at least once:

How to fight;

How to sense the Aura;

How to understand human words;

How to communicate via telepathy.

But by the time he had finished lecturing them on the basics of how to fight and sense Aura they had all lost interest completely, and whilst some had requested that their lessons come to an end, most had simply 'forgotten' to turn up again. They were only young.

"Please?" said Pip beseechingly when he had still not responded.

Howl looked down at him at last.

"Is anyone else awake?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think everyone's eating breakfast right now."

Howl was silent for another minute, then he decided,

"Let's go and eat first, and if you still want to learn how to swim afterwards… then, yes. I will teach you."

The effect that these words had was incredible: Pip's whole being seemed to brighten; his tail and ears lifted; his eyes widened and seemed to shimmer as delight spread across his face.

"Really…? You'll really teach me, sir?"

"I'll teach you what I can," Howl said placidly.

He smiled down at the hopeful look on Pip's face, which in turn made Pip blush and have to look away again.

Howl clambered out of the lake, filled the bucket Pip had brought with lake water, and carried it in his arms as they made their way together to The Forest's 'eating area'.

Soon they heard others' voices and the sounds of talk and laughter as they walked along the paths leading them through the trees.

Occasionally Howl caught sight of Pip glancing left and right warily, as though he were afraid of something. He had to slow down a couple of times so that Pip could keep up with him, and each time Pip was more and more flustered, as if his mind had been elsewhere. But Howl said nothing about it. He thought he knew already why this was, and if he was correct, it was something to do with Pip, not him; and if there was reassurance to be needed, Pip would surely bring it to his attention.

They turned left into the clearing, and sunlight streamed into their eyes.

Everyone was sitting in small groups at various locations: beside rocks, under the shade of trees, next to tree stumps, or just with their friends in general - and always with a large pile of fruit and berries in-between them.

Some Pokémon saw Howl and smiled and waved, and a few from various different groups beckoned him to join them.

He raised a paw in response and looked back to Pip, who had withdrawn behind him at the calls and greetings of other Pokémon. Understanding what this meant, Howl carefully placed the bucket down on the ground, hiding him from view, and under the pretense of crouching to briefly check the water, muttered out of the corner of his mouth,

"What's wrong?"

Pip gulped and looked up at him, and there was true fear in his eyes. Howl had seen that expression many times when he'd left The Forest to help a Pokémon who was in danger (which he knew either from his schedule of Aura-scanning every morning and noon, or from being alerted by the Bird-Pokémon).

He whispered,

"Are you nervous?"

"A little…" Pip replied.

"Would you prefer it if we ate somewhere else?"

"Y-Yes please…"

Howl nodded.

"Wait here, then. I'll be back soon. _**Don't**_ leave.I'll just need to make an excu-"

But before he could complete his sentence, there came a call from someone out of sight,

"He-e-y, How-ull!"

Howl groaned and stood up.

"Lopunny," he said coldly, turning to face the voice's owner.

Lopunny appeared as if out of nowhere amidst the throng of Pokémon and sidled her way through them towards him.

"I've been wondering when _**you'd**_ show up!" she said once she was in the centre of the clearing, moving purposely towards him.

Some of the Pokémon in the crowd smirked and leaned close to one another to whisper and point.

Howl glared warningly to indicate he was in no mood, but she continued to smile demurely as though that would mask her intentions.

"Well, you seem tense today," she said when she had drawn level with him and he was still glaring,

"D'you maybe want to eat somewhere more… private? Away from all this noise?"

Snorts and muffled laughter rang clearly, but Lopunny had eyes only for him. He glared back and said nothing, and stooped to pick up the bucket.

"Oh, allow me," she said, crouching and placing her hands beside his. He tugged the bucket away and pushed past her, trying to move through the clearing quickly so as not to draw attention to Pip, who was no doubt trying to hide at that very moment.

"Why won't you talk to me?" she asked him in a falsely hurt tone.

"I have nothing to say to you," he said curtly, not looking at her.

"Ohh, why not…?"

"Why do you think?"

He set the bucket down and turned back just in time to see Pip shrinking back into the distance - but his pace was not slow and cautious; it was a quick, frightened scurry, as though he had no intention of stopping.

Howl started towards him and was about to shake his head as if to say 'no, stay where you are', when Pip turned and ran back along the path towards the lake.

"Wait!" he called and broke into a run, but he had barely taken a few steps when someone - whether it had been deliberate or not he neither knew nor cared - made to stand up, and as they put their arm out, he stumbled over them, nearly falling, but he regained his balance, stood up, and then in a second he heard footsteps behind him, and then Lopunny crashed hard into him.

"Oops! Sorry!" she cried loudly.

The crowd all around them roared with laughter.

Howl had managed to avoid falling by narrowly flinging out his paw. He looked up desperately, hoping to see that Pip had stayed as commanded, but the path ahead was barren. Pip had vanished as successfully as his mother had done.

He pushed Lopunny off of him and stood up slowly, closing his eyes, clenching his paws, breathing deeply.

The laughter died at once. Nobody seemed to move apart from him and Lopunny, who was smiling innocently up at him as if what had happened was of mutual amusement. He turned away, not looking at anyone, and tried to contain his anger.

"Whuh-oh," came Lopunny's voice, "someone's _**really**_ cranky today."

A collective shudder seemed to pass throughout the whole area.

He said nothing, and walked on to the nearest group, whose food pile was among the largest, and began to fill his arms with fruits, berries and leaves.

He heard Lopunny say something, but he ignored her. The crowd seemed to be holding its breath, and those nearest to him had shifted carefully away.

When his arms were filled, he nodded to them in curt thanks and began to follow after Pip. He could not have gone far.

"Hey, where are you going?!" said Lopunny as he moved past without sparing her so much as a glance.

"I haven't upset you, have I?" she added, switching to her falsely concerned voice.

She made to follow him, but he stopped and looked at her over his shoulder, and such was the danger in his eyes that she froze on the spot. But she caught herself and went on persistently,

"I…" and she added a small, emotional tremor to her voice, "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to. I-I didn't realise that-"

"Liar."

Lopunny gasped, "Wh-What?" she stammered, half deceptively sad, half truly shocked, "What do you mean? I'm not lying! I really am sorry!"

"Don't even try it," he said, looking away and moving forward.

She gave a little exclamation of pretend guilt and started to walk after him until he turned and glared at her with all the ferocity he had.

"Don't you _**dare**_ follow me, Lopunny!"

She recoiled, all unreal emotions wiped out and true fear etched on her face.

"OK, OK, OK, OK!" she spluttered, backing away as quickly as she could, looking anywhere, at anything but Howl, who turned away once more and strode away along the path, his heart still thumping with barely-suppressed rage.

As he reached the pathway leading to the lake, his anger began to subside, and be replaced by a small hint of guilt. He was far angrier then he had needed to be, but Lopunny had been bothering him for too long! Surely at that point anyone would have been angry!

Lopunny had once been a shy girl, never quite mingling in crowds, never really speaking to anyone and often going to a quiet little corner by herself at mealtimes. But now she had outright refused to leave him alone for more than two days at a time ever since around a year ago, and he was in no doubt why.

There had been an incident, one rainy evening just before dinner, when she had been tricked by a group of mischief-makers into leaving The Forest, in search of something which had apparently been stolen from her by a Bird-Pokémon. She had left The Forest and tried to find the thief by herself, and she had not returned.

Luckily Howl had been informed of this by a very young Pidove who'd overheard most of the conversation, and upon scanning the Aura within The Forest, he had sensed strong traces of a solitary Aura leaving The Forest and heading east. He had followed after it at once, and after half an hours run, he had found Lopunny, kicking, struggling and crying out as she was dragged along the ground, ensnared in a net.

She had been caught by a band of self-proclaimed 'monster hunters'.

Howl had beaten them all down and led her away, half-supporting her, half-carrying her, limp, cut, bruised, and sobbing into his shoulder as they made their return journey.

They had taken shelter from the night's torrential rain under a large, overhanging rock, where he had treated her wounds, and even after that, she had still been crying.

She had apologised again and again as they had been on the move, but as soon as they were stopped, she had resorted to berating herself. She had said she was a fool to have believed what the group had told her, she had told him that she was a worthless drain on The Forest's precious resources, and he had firmly told her that if she truly believed that, then it was time for her to grow stronger, time for her to overcome over her own weaknesses. She had replied that she didn't have any strengths to work on, and he had told her that no-one was born knowing their strengths. For some, he had told her, it took their whole lives to find a strength they both truly possessed and truly valued, and he had gone on to tell her of some of the Pokémon he had known in his life who had been through such circumstances. She had listened to him disbelievingly, but attentively. They had talked long into the night, and by the time the rain had subsided it was nearly dawn, and all of her sorrow and guilt had been replaced by a kind of cautious optimism.

Howl had been pleased to see such a change of heart. It had made him hopeful and expectant. Perhaps Lopunny would be more confident around others, and perhaps she would even be willing to take some charge in The Forest. But instead he had been presented with a result he'd never hoped for within the following week.

Lopunny had been that way with him ever since.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four:**_

 _ **Warrior Wisdom**_

He turned a corner and found himself at the southern-end of the lake, looking out at the familiar crystal-clear water, growing gradually deeper as it neared the great tree.

He moved forward and looked around. Both the lake's waters and the earth surrounding it were deserted. A Starvia swooped down onto the tree and began to pluck leaves off of its branches, no doubt for building a nest for her group, but she took no notice of him and he ignored her. There was a much more pressing matter on his mind. Where was Pip?

As if in response to his question, he heard a noise from somewhere close by. A faint, quiet scuffle as something moved against leaves. It had been so quiet he was unsure if he had really heard it. He listened closely, moving his ears towards the sound.

He heard nothing.

Unperturbed, he closed his eyes and directed his Aura Senses towards the noise.

Then he found someone, and hurried along to the eastern-end of the lake.

It was Pip. His small body enveloped in pure-white Aura, and his heartbeat pulsing sad, drooped waves from the core to the very edge of his Aura in a slow, even rhythm.

He opened his eyes and found himself staring directly into a large Rhododendron patch reaching up almost as high as the neighbouring trees. He looked down and saw a leaf larger than those next to it tied by the stalk with its body facing downwards, as though it had been put there deliberately. He knelt down and reached for the large leaf, but before he could touch it, there came a hiss and flap of wing-beats overhead, and the Starvia perched on the tree above him and began to harvest more leaves.

He moved swiftly with his back towards her and pretended to be gathering leaves from the Rhododendron, not wanting to seem as though he were up to something; Bird-Pokémon were infamous for spreading rumours.

He turned around and continued to gather more leaves until he looked up as though by chance at the Bird-Pokémon. She had been watching him curiously, and when he looked at her, she nodded respectfully and he nodded back.

"Gathering those for lunchtime?" she asked, nodding towards the food in his arms.

"No. I just needed some peace and quiet."

The Starvia made a concurring note. This was a reasonable reply.

"I'll leave you to it, then," she said, picking up the little bundle of leaves in her talons and taking flight.

Once he was sure she was gone, he turned back to the large leaf and moved it to one side with his foot. Behind it was a small, narrow tunnel which looked as though it had been diligently cleared by someone.

He didn't want to alarm Pip, however, so he straightened up, took a few steps away, and called to the side,

"Pip? Are you here somewhere? Come on out, it's me."

He waited for a responding voice to call from within the tunnel, but none came.

He tried again, with the same result.

Finally he crouched to all fours, holding tightly onto the berries and fruit, (though he couldn't help but drop a few) pushed the leaf aside, and crawled into the tunnel, calling as he went,

"Pip, I'm coming in."

"HEY! How did you get in here?! This is MY hiding place!" came Pip's indignant voice once Howl was framed in the tunnel's end.

"It's a good one. I'm impressed," he replied, crawling out into the open and smiling kindly.

Pip blushed, but did not look away; for his eyes had found the food in Howl's arms.

Howl, however, pretended not to have noticed, and instead looked all around the area.

It was as though he had crawled his way into a relatively small, but very serene leaf-formed dome. The sides were formed of foliage which had grown together so tightly that it was made into an almost solid wall; the ground beneath their feet was earthy and bare, and the only gaps were that of the tunnel and a small circular hole in the roof through which the bright sky was visible.

"Well, well…" Howl said, his eyes lowering to Pip again, "This is a very comfortable place. How did you find it? I don't suppose you made it yourself, did you?"

"N-No," Pip replied, still gazing longingly at the contents of Howl's arms,

"No, I…" But at that precise moment, Pip's stomach gave an enormous rumble quite disproportionate to its size.

Howl chuckled, but not mockingly, and Pip's cheeks were flushed to the pink shade of a Pecha Berry.

"Why're you here, anyway?" Pip asked.

"I thought it would be good if we ate together. I expect you're tired of being on your own."

Howl moved to one side and dropped the food into a pile, digging out the leaves among them and setting them carefully next to one another on the ground like a mat.

Pip watched him for a moment, apparently taken aback. But then a little frown appeared across his face.

"What do you mean? Why would it be _**good**_?"

Howl paused halfway towards placing the first few berries on top of the leaves.

"I mean it would do _**you**_ some good," he said bluntly.

They looked at each other in silence, Pip's expression becoming increasingly more puzzled with each passing moment.

Howl continued,

"No-one has seen you for a long time, little one. Some Pokémon think you've run away, and some never even knew you were here in the first place.

But you've been hiding away in here all this time, haven't you?"

Pip seemed to have frozen at these words. His ears gave a violent twitch and his tail went rigid, but he shook his head all the same, and kept his mouth shut tight.

"No…?" Howl repeated quietly.

He looked hard at the little Eevee before him, trying to break his will to hide the truth.

"Then why is this 'your hiding place'…?"

Pip said nothing. He seemed unable to speak at all. He glanced around restlessly, determined not to meet the Lucario's piercing gaze.

Howl, however, was much more determined. He moved away from the food pile and sat down directly ahead of him, crossing his legs and settling his paws in his lap.

"Pip… tell me the truth. Why are you hiding in here?"

Silence was the response.

"Are you afraid of everyone?"

The effect this simple question had was exactly what he'd hoped for.

Pip wrenched his eyes away from the ground and glowered at him furiously.

"NO!" he said loudly, his voice echoing back and forth inside the dome.

Howl didn't so much as flinch at the sudden increase in volume, but sat perfectly still and comfortable, as if he were completely at ease.

Pip looked away again, his eyes falling to the ground, and spoke to his own feet.

"I just… I don't care. I don't want to be with anyone else. I'm fine on my own.

So… So you can just go away! Leave me alone!"

Howl said nothing, and his expression remained coldly calm.

"Go away!" Pip repeated hotly, "Please," he added when Howl's eyes

narrowed a little.

"No," he said finally, "I'm not going anywhere until you've answered my question truthfully.

Why are you hiding in here?"

"I did answer your question! I'm fine on my own! I don't want to be with anyone else!"

"And is that the truth?"

"YES."

"So. You want me to believe you _**aren't**_ afraid of everyone… and yet you want to be left alone - in this 'hiding place'?"

Pip twisted his mouth, and his tail gave an awkward twitch, but he nodded stubbornly.

But seemed to regret this action at once.

Howl looked disappointedly at him.

"That's not a very good lie, is it?"

The Eevee's fur bristled angrily, but Howl merely looked back coldly and held out a paw, saying,

"Sit," indicating the empty space between them.

"I wasn't asking…" he added when Pip opened his mouth to retort.

Pip's expression was then suffused into a mixture of great incredulity and anxiety.

"I don't want…!" he began, but with one look up at Howl's expression, he couldn't finish, and moved with lowered ears and tail to the designated spot and sat down with averted eyes, all resolute and contrary emotions wiped out completely.

He was only a child, and no match for the natural sense of authority Howl could command when he wanted to.

"So, Pip," he went on,

"I suspect I'm getting pretty warm, but I'll give you the benefit of a doubt just in case I'm completely off the mark. From what I can see, you don't appear to be _**truly**_ dishonest, so I'll ask you one more time: _**Are you**_ afraid? And if you are – why? I might be able to help you."

Pip muttered something inaudible.

"What was that?" Howl asked, but the little one shook his head, saying,

"Nothing, sir."

"No, tell me what you said."

"I… S-Sir…!" Pip shook his head more vigorously than ever, and Howl understood he'd said something he was too ashamed to repeat, so he moved on,

"So why have you been hiding, then? You're not afraid, apparently. Then what _**is**_ the reason?"

Once more Pip said nothing, but he had not altogether ignored him this time.

Howl's eyes moved over him swiftly, and he had noticed the Eevee's front paws were trembling violently, and at first he'd thought that may have been out of nerves, but he then caught a sight of the little one's eyes, which were glistening on the verge of tears.

He thought he knew why Pip had been hiding away for so long, but had only acted oblivious so that he might be told why openly.

There was no question of it in his mind now, however. He was convinced.

"Pip… look at me."

His voice was much gentler, and much more empathetic, and perhaps it was only that which made Pip obey.

"Little one… have your reasons for hiding had anything to do with your mother and father?"

Silence hung in the air.

Not even a breath of wind disturbed the trees above.

A minute passed, and neither of them said a word.

Howl waited patiently, until finally, just when he'd been about to break the silence, tears formed in Pip's eyes and began to flow steadily down his cheeks.

"I see…" Howl said quietly.

Pip blinked hard, trying desperately to stem the flow of tears, but it was overwhelming. Eventually he lowered his eyes to the ground and cried in earnest, all shame forgotten.

Howl kept silent and let the little one cry. Waiting until he had at least brushed his eyes before speaking.

"I know how you feel-"

"NO, YOU DON'T!" Pip shouted suddenly, glaring up at him through tear-filled eyes, "You don't know how I feel at all! You - You…!"

His voice gave out under the strain, and he broke down again, sobbing bitterly.

"Don't I…?"

Pip fell silent as abruptly as if Howl had shouted right back at him, and lifted his eyes just high enough to see his face.

"Do you think _**I**_ haven't suffered as you have…?

Think _**I've**_ never lost anyone important to me…?"

His tone was quite calm, but Pip had sensed something in it, and was aware at once of a tension in the little enclosure.

"It isn't easy to lose the one most dear to you… is it, Pip," Howl went on solemnly,

"You just don't know what you're supposed to do anymore.

You lose what precious faith you have.

You feel as though an immense part of your own life has been stolen from you, and that you never truly appreciated before just how much you needed it.

Without that missing part, you feel as though your own world is starting to crumble all around you, piece by piece, and that it won't stop until absolutely nothing remains.

And in the end, you feel like it would just be easier to do nothing at all ever again. To not _**feel**_ anything anymore, and hide yourself away from everyone and everything else, so that at least you might not ever feel pain again."

Pip shut his eyes tight as more tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Am I wrong?"

Pip's mouth thinned, and he gave a little sniff before brushing his eyes again on the back of his paw.

Howl took that to mean 'no' and continued,

"But… I'm afraid doing nothing is simply not an option, especially for you.

You are far too young to just give your whole life up."

"No…" said Pip tremulously, "No…! I don't want - Please - Just don't!

I don't wa-"

"You don't want to hear it? Too bad.

You've had time to grieve all on your own. Now it's time to stop grieving and talk.

To other Pokémon. To me."

There came another long silence, broken only by Pip's shuddering breaths and the occasional sniff.

Howl kept the silence so that Pip could have his turn to speak if he wanted to. But he said nothing, and avoided his eye.

"It seems to me as though right now you're angry at your parents for leaving you here on your own, and that is perfectly reasonable."

Pip pretended not to have heard him.

"You may feel betrayed… You might feel as though your parents have abandoned you…

But I'm envious."

It was Howl's turn to look away, his turn to address the earth around him.

"I've never known my mother and father…"

He heard a small intake of breath.

"You… You don't know who your parents are?" said Pip in a voice of mixed disbelief and shock.

"No. I never have," Howl replied, shaking his head.

"Do you… D'you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No. No siblings, no parents… no family."

"You… You're… alone?"

Howl looked up suddenly, finally managing to make direct eye-contact.

Pip seemed to have become suddenly breathless. He had even stopped crying, though his face was still wet with tears.

" _ **You**_ on the other hand…" he began, but Pip suddenly broke out,

"But _**I'm**_ alone too! My parents are gone! They're probably both de-"

"You still have your parents; both of whom were willing to sacrifice _**everything**_ for you."

"What?! What're you talking about? I don't still have-"

But something in Howl's expression made him break off at once.

"Shall I continue?" he asked quietly.

"U-Um… I-I

…Sorry."

"You're forgiven," he said flatly.

"Your father…" he went on, "Well, we both know the sacrifice he made.

He was completely willing to put his life on the line to ensure that you and your mother reached The Forest safely.

What he did was noble… but I have to be frank: I believe the sacrifice that your mother made was even more noble."

Pip looked anything but in agreement, but suppressed what was clearly on his mind. Howl smiled in appreciation at this, and asked,

"Do you know why she left you? What was breaking her heart more than anything else?

You were listening to the two of us talk on the night she ran away, weren't you?"

"I… I dunno."

"It's all right. You can be honest. I'm not angry with you."

For the first time, Pip met his gaze deliberately, without even blinking constantly, or glancing here and there.

"…Maybe…" he said finally.

Howl gave a small chuckle, and Pip's mouth twitched as though he'd been almost tempted to laugh as well.

"Well then, let's just 'pretend' you weren't," said Howl, returning to seriousness,

"She told me that she felt as long as she was with you, you would be miserable. You may feel sad now, but she obviously thought that this would be nothing compared to how you would feel if she were with you…"

"But… _**why**_? Why did she think that, sir?!"

Howl could do nothing more than shake his head helplessly,

"I don't know," he said, "Believe me, I wish I could give you the answer…

but I don't have it. However, there is one thing I can say with certainty:

She made the sacrifice for you so that you would be happy again someday.

She left to find your father because she knew that he was the one who you admired, who you relied upon, and who you would miss more than anyone else.

Even though she herself had only just made it here, even though she could have stayed safely with you, and even though it meant putting her life at serious risk once again…

she was still ready to throw _**all**_ of it away just so you could be happy again."

Pip's expression was unreadable. He simply stared, lost for words.

"You are lucky, little one. Truly lucky to have parents like them.

Though the loss hurts… you should be proud, all the same."

Pip's mouth hung open slightly, as though he were just a breath away from speaking, but then, slowly, an expression of deep contemplation spread across his face. Strangely, and for almost no reason at all, Howl was reminded by this of the time when he had talked to Lopunny in the raging storm of the night, under the shelter of the overhanging rock. They had been secluded then too.

"Now then," Howl said after some minutes,

"I think I've trespassed on your hospitality long enough…"

Pip looked up at him, puzzled.

"Sir?"

Howl had uncrossed his legs and begun to make his way back towards the tunnel.

"I've given you a lot to think about, so I'll leave you alone for now. The food over there is yours, so help yourself."

"But… sir, wait!" said Pip uneasily, "What about… You said you'd teach me…"

Howl stopped on his way into the tunnel and looked back over his shoulder.

"Yes, I know. I haven't forgotten," he said, "If you still want to learn, I'd be happy to teach you. But first you should consider what I've told you, don't you think? I'm not going to let you just disappear again as soon as our lessons are over. And if you try that, I _**will**_ find you.

You understand?

If you come back to us, you stay with us."

And with that, he ducked under the roof of the tunnel and left.

* * *

 _Hello again, Readers! Sorry for the unforgivably long break, but I'm back now, and I haven't given up on posting the rest of the story! I have been busy, but I'm not going to write an extra paragraph so you'll feel sorry for me. I should've been more consistent with my writing, but I had other, finding-an-apprenticeship / job-related things keeping my occupied. I could have managed to finish writing this chapter around last month, I think, but... You know..._

 _...The new Zelda._

 _Anyway, now that I'm back, I just wanted to apologise to any I've made wait, and hence promise that I'll do my best to make sure all future chapters were worth it._

 _-Thanks! -Relic._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Five:**_

 _ **Return**_

Pip sat perfectly still, his gaze lingering on the place where Howl had been. The silence was so immense and profound it felt as though time had slowed to a halt all around him. It was strange. He had thought he was used to the solitude and stillness that this small, enclosed dome offered, yet it had never felt so empty before.

Howl's words echoed through his mind over and over again.

Words about his parents, but mostly about his mother.

Unbidden, unwanted, but with heart-rending clarity he remembered the countless nights of their travels she had cuddled him, gentled him and warmed him, and told him the stories she had told when he was younger, and when he was afraid, she had assured him that as long as they drew breath, nothing would be able do him harm, and that it would all be over soon. She and his father and him, they would all find The Forest together, and everything would be alright.

The little one's eyes burned. His head swam. His chest ached, until finally he could not just sit still any longer.

He began to pace back and forth, unable to form any coherent thoughts for more than a second. It was as though his thoughts were being projected through a magnifying glass, narrowing down onto one bittersweet memory after another and expanding them to ten times their recent intensity.

Pip couldn't bear it. He wanted to cry out, but he didn't have the strength. He wanted to see his mother again! He wanted to hear her voice and feel her comfort! He wanted his father to come home. He wanted his family to come back!

But they never would.

They were gone. They were never coming back.

The little one screwed up his eyes, trying to contain the bitter anguish, but it was overwhelming! He couldn't stay in here any longer - he needed to get out of this place! He didn't even care if he didn't know any of them - he wanted to be with other Pokémon again! Anybody else's voice would be better than _**this**_!

"Howl?! Sir?!" he cried, and darted towards the exit and through the tunnel as fast as his little legs could carry him.

He was so small that he didn't need to worry about crouching low whilst inside it, and almost immediately he was nudging the large leaf aside and looking out across the lake beyond. But the whole place was quiet.

He peeked out a little further, but there was no-one in sight.

Maybe Howl had returned to the eating area? But maybe not, he thought; that girl Pokémon had clearly been annoying him, so maybe he'd gone somewhere else? He shook his head. There was no time for him to dither. His mind felt as though it had become hazed, so that all he felt was grief and sheer loneliness. He made a wild dash for the path he'd taken when he'd fled from the eating area, and listened for any voices nearby.

He turned a corner, ran all the way across to the other end, and then turned another, wishing with all his heart that Howl was nearby.

But as he was nearing the halfway point of a third path, between the way he'd come and the way he was headed towards, he heard a loud cry of pain, and struggled to make himself stop.

He listened closely. Had he imagined it? Then he heard it again; a soft thud and then a high yelp. But this time he heard voices alongside it.

"All right! Ten points!"

"That was not ten points-"

"Shut up, Patrat! It's MY game, and I say that's ten points!"

"You can't just change the rul-"

"Can too! And I'm not changing the rules this time, you're just a bad loser!"

Pip listened for a moment before losing interest, and he began to move onward, but then he heard another voice. A weak, pleading, tremulous voice.

"Stop it…" it said, "This isn't funny… Please, just stop!"

"You, shut up!" snapped the first voice, "You're not supposed to talk! Just keep still!"

"No… I don't want to!"

"You agreed to this!"

"No I didn't-OWW!"

Pip heard a soft thud, and then another, and another. Each thud was accompanied by a cry of pain, but no sympathy whatsoever was given, only jeers and hoots of triumph were heard from the other voices.

Pip looked towards where all the noise was coming from, and saw a small parting in the trees to his left, and hurried into it without thinking.

Seconds later he found himself in a clearing not unlike his hiding place, though this was much more accessible, and there were no walls other than the surrounding trees. The sun shone clearly onto a small group of Pokémon inside, and Pip looked from one to the other. Three Pokémon - all a few years older than he was - were gathered at one end of the clearing, and it was their voices he'd heard before that had been laughing. There was a Treecko, a Patrat, and a Purrloin. At their feet lay a pile of stones, which they were scooping into their hands and counting out how many each of them should have, causing much quarreling.

Pip heard shuddering, convulsive breaths, and looked towards the other end of the clearing, and gasped. There he saw a Pokémon of about the same age as he was, hanging upside-down from the branch of a tree by his ankle, and he was pleading, crying, sobbing, pleading again, but the other children took not the slightest notice.

"You! I thought I told you to SHUT UP!" the Patrat shouted.

"I don't want to play anymore!" the other Pokémon retorted in a voice that would have been anger if not for the tears that shook it so violently.

"Yeah? Well, we do, we're having fun. So grow a backbone and put up with it!"

"I don't WANT to!"

"You agreed to this, Sentret! We asked you nice and simple, 'want to come play with us after breakfast?' and you said yes! Now stop being such a baby and keep still!"

Pip was at a loss as to what was going on. He watched, unnoticed, as the little, sobbing Pokémon stopped covering his eyes and held his arms out wide. And then Pip felt the realisation come crashing down:

The aforementioned Sentret had a concentric circular pattern of white fur which stood out separate from the rest of the light-brown fur in the dead centre of his stomach, and at various places on the white-patterned fur were a number of deeply-marked bruises.

The Purrloin, Treecko and Patrat cheered mockingly.

"OK, Patrat, your turn!"

As the Patrat moved ahead, holding a handful of stones, Pip saw the Sentret at the other end give another tremulous moan, and shut tight his brimming eyes.

He had never seen anyone look so scared.

The Patrat held a stone out before him briefly, and then hurled it forward, where it crashed with horrible power directly into the exposed stomach of the Sentret.

"HEY!" Pip cried out suddenly, stepping into view.

All eyes turned to him at once. Pip felt a shiver pass over him at the sight of the stones in their hands, but he stood his ground.

"Stop that!" he said loudly, addressing the group of three, "Stop hurting him!"

They looked at him briefly, and then to each other, and then the Patrat sneered,

"Get lost, pipsqueak," And threw yet another stone.

"Didn't you hear me?! I said STOP IT!" Pip shouted at the top of his voice, starting towards them, but the Patrat whirled round and made to throw a stone at Pip instead, who cried out and recoiled.

"Unless _**you**_ want to play with us, you can get lost right now!" the Purrloin hissed at him.

Pip felt his body begin to tremble. He shouldn't have interfered. How could he possibly stop all three of them? But he couldn't just let them continue! They were being mean! They were bullying!

The laughter, jeers and name-calling pierced Pip from one ear to the other. He searched deep within himself, and managed to find enough strength to shout,

"I'll tell Howl! If you don't stop hurting him, I'll tell Howl what you're doing!"

"That," said a deep, growling voice nearby, "will not be necessary."


	7. Chapter six

_**Chapter Six:**_

 _ **The Guardian's Governance**_

Pip felt his stomach leap. The group of older Pokémon had heard the voice too, and fell still at once. Pip whipped around and began to cry joyfully,

"Sir-"

But he gasped and choked the sentence back unfinished.

Howl was standing exactly where he himself had been under the shade of the trees, and there was look in his eyes Pip had never seen before. In an instant, all the relief he'd felt not one minute ago was snuffed out like a candle.

He felt cold and afraid.

Howl moved until he was framed clearly in the entrance of the clearing, and looked from the group, still holding their handful of stones, to the Sentret, still crying, still hanging upside-down just beyond where Pip now stood.

The Patrat, Purrloin, and Treecko seemed to have been petrified. Their very movements had once been rich with malicious glee, but now their faces showed fear in every visible aspect.

Then there was a rumbling noise throughout the clearing. A deep, ferocious growl which Pip felt through the soles of his feet.

He had never _**truly**_ seen Howl's anger before. He thought he'd seen some traces of it at times; like earlier that day back in the eating area, but that had only been mild animosity. What he saw now like was nothing he could have ever imagined. Howl was terrifying!

Pip could see his whole body bristling with savage fury: his crimson eyes were ablaze, his fur seemed to be charged with some kind of electric current, and his tail moved slowly from side to side.

Pip couldn't help it; never before had he seen a Pokémon so frightening. He had to creep towards the entrance-end of the clearing, somewhere more-or-less out of Howl's line of sight before he felt even remotely safe.

"Well, well…" Howl said, and his voice was so low it was barely distinguishable from a growl itself,

"What have we here…?"

Pip heard a noise beside Howl, and realised he was not alone. There was another Pokémon beside him; a Lillipup, and she looked just as frightened as Pip was. There was no time for him speculate as to what she was here for, however.

The Patrat, Purrloin and Treecko all made involuntary movements and dropped the stones in their hands.

Howl had barely begun to take his first step towards them when they simultaneously turned and made a wild dash in opposite directions.

"I don't think so!" Howl snarled, and in a blur of blue fur he sped forwards and seized them one by one - an ankle, an arm, a tail - and pulled them back towards him. They cried out and struggled against his grip, but it would not loosen. Then he forced their backs together, gripped all three of the scruffs of their necks in a single large black paw, and lifted them clear off the ground.

"Explain yourselves. Now," he growled, holding them out before him at arms-length. The three fell suddenly limp and still, helpless.

An intense silence reigned. Howl turned the Pokémon around in his grasp to look at each of them individually, and not one of them dared to meet his eyes.

Then Sentret's voice broke the silence.

"S-Sir…?

S… Stick? Is that you?"

Howl said, "Stick. Go help your friend down."

"Yes, sir!" said the Lillipup at once, and hurried past Pip to do as he said.

Howl then looked at Pip, who felt his heart skip a beat.

Howl's eyes seemed to glow like the fury of fire itself. Pip had never seen such a glare, never felt such danger, and he didn't even want to imagine what it must feel like for the Pokémon it was being directed at. Howl glanced pointedly to the other end of the clearing, where the Lillipup had managed to scramble up onto the tree and begin to scratch at the vine Sentret was tied to. Pip understood what he meant, and hurried to help.

"Let us go!" Purrloin cried out suddenly as she struggled in vain, "Put us down!"

"You're not going anywhere…!" Howl said, his voice still dangerously low.

"We're sorry, okay?!" Treecko said desperately, "We're really sorry! We won't do it again!"

"Treecko!" Patrat snapped, "Shut yer yap!"

There was another ominous silence. Then Howl turned them around again 'til he was face-to-face with Patrat instead.

"Very well then, _**you**_ can explain…" he rumbled.

"Uh…" Patrat said anxiously, forcing an innocent smile, "Explain what, Howl, sir?"

Pip could no longer see Howl's face from the angle he was at, but saw the smile fade from Patrat's almost as soon as it had formed.

"I warned you…" Howl said, "When each of you arrived in this forest, I warned you, did I not, that I will not condone this sort of thing. And again later on, when I caught you mercilessly picking on Pichu in an attempt to steal his food, I warned you once again.

Didn't I… Patrat, Purrloin, Treecko."

"But, sir!" said Patrat, "You don't understand! This… This isn't what it looks like!"

"Go on…" Howl said.

"Uh… W-We were just playing a game is all! We weren't doing anything, I swear!"

"A game…?"

"Yes, sir, I swear!"

"And what game would that be…?"

"Um…" Patrat hesitated. Then mumbled, "Bull's-eye, sir."

There was a pause. Howl turned his head and roared,

"Rustle!" Pip and Stick both jumped. They had been trying to ignore the talk that was going on, but with little success, and the Sentret was still hanging suspended by his ankle.

"These three," Howl continued, shaking them once as if they were no heavier than feathers,

"did they invite you to play this 'Bull's-eye' with them?"

More sobs and a distressed moan was the Sentret's reply.

"Answer me, Rustle. Just nod or shake your head! Did they ask you to play Bull's-eye with them, yes or no?"

Rustle gave another sniff, and said, "They… asked me to come play with them, but… they didn't say anything about what game… and they didn't… tell me…"

He could not go on. Howl had barely turned his gaze back the three in his grasp when they all spoke feverishly over one another.

"-He's lying, sir!-"

"-Don't listen to him!-"

"-That's not true!-"

Until Howl snarled, "Be SILENT!" And the voices stopped at once.

"I have heard enough. I don't have the time, or the patience to listen to more of your lies. I warned you time and time again what would happen if you continued this way, yet your actions have not changed."

And suddenly he released them, and they fell in a heap to the ground at his feet.

"Do you remember what happens to delinquents who break the rules?" he asked them.

The Patrat, Purrloin and Treecko exchanged nervous glances.

"They are punished," Howl continued, "in a manner which is similar, if not identical to the pain that they themselves have inflicted.

So, for the three of you, that would mean…"

His eyes moved slowly towards the pile of stones nearby.

The three realised what he was saying, and immediately they scrambled up to their feet and began to back away.

Howl moved to the side and picked up a handful of the stones in the pile.

"This game of yours…" he said conversationally, letting the stones fall in succession back into the pile until only a select few remained,

"This Bull's-eye… it seems to me like it'd make a good training exercise. I might like to try it myself…"

The Patrat, Treecko and Purrloin backed away even further, twice stumbling over each other's feet.

Howl stood, and held up the stones in his paw.

"Three shots," he said, his eyes blazing down at them behind the length of his muzzle,

"I have three shots - one for each of you. I'll give you a five-second head start. You'd better run."

He had barely finished saying the word 'run' when the Purrloin turned at once and scampered away through the trees until she was lost from view.

Both the Treecko and Patrat remained, hesitant.

Howl began to count,

"One."

The Treecko took a step away from him.

"Sir, please!" he said, ignoring Patrat, "Please! I won't do it again, please!"

"Two."

Treecko gave a little cry of fear and disappeared along the path.

Only Patrat remained.

"We could tell on you!" he said in a final stand, "We could tell Mist!"

"You could," Howl affirmed, "but you won't."

"How d'you know-"

"Four."

Patrat finally turned and ran past Pip, Stick and Rustle through the trees, crying out more loudly than any of his companions.

His footsteps were still audible when they saw the stone soar through the air and heard it land with an echoing thud into the bark of a distant tree.

They heard a high, terrified yelp, and caught the sound of Patrat's fleeing footfalls for a few seconds more before at last, they too, had vanished.

Pip felt his whole body tremble when silence fell once again. He could feel his heartbeats pounding through his suddenly breathless chest. His mouth and throat felt as dry as the bark of the tree he stood on, and his legs felt as though they would buckle under the tiniest shift of weight, sending him tumbling down to the hard ground. But the nausea he felt that was most prominent was a dark, sickly feeling in the very pit of his stomach.

He heard two silent patters as the remaining stones fell one after the other to the ground. Then came the sound of approaching footsteps.

Pip felt a sudden lurch of fear and instantly began to dig his claws into the vine once more, scratching feverishly as hard as he could, trying to at least create a tear in its surface.

"Hey…" said Stick gently, and he knew at once it was too late.

He shifted a glance to his left, and saw that Howl was barely inches from him. He couldn't bring himself to look into his eyes, however, for fear of what he might see.

A large, charcoal-black paw gripped the end of the vine nearest to that of its burden, and from the other paw extended a silver claw the size of Pip's leg at least, which sliced through the vine with no more resistance than air.

They heard Rustle's faint moans as he was lowered gently to the ground, and continuous sobs rattled his every breath. Stick leapt down beside him and began to comfort him as the black paws untied the knot around his ankle.

A few moments passed. Pip had a feeling that Howl's eyes were on him, but he did not make an effort to find out, and instead kept his eyes on the Pokémon directly below, curled up on his side.

When Stick had comforted him some more, and Rustle's breathing sounded more in-control, Howl's familiar deep voice said,

"Rustle, hold your arms out. Wide, if you please."

But the Sentret shut his eyes tight and shook his head miserably.

"It's OK, Rustle…" said Stick reassuringly, but Rustle mumbled incoherent words and shook his head again.

"If you don't listen to me, little one, I can't do anything to help you," Howl said in a matter-of-fact tone that for all its simplicity still somehow gave the subtle impression that one understood the pain the other was undergoing.

" _ **Please**_ , Rustle," Stick urged.

Rustle moaned, screwed up his eyes, shook his head, moaned again; and at last rolled over slowly onto his back and held his arms out, exposing his stomach for all to see.

Stick gasped, Howl gave another low growl, and Pip felt his own stomach turned over by what he saw.

"Is it… I-Is it bad?" came Rustle's voice. He lifted his head to try and see, but Howl suddenly held his paw out just above his chin, intercepting his line of sight.

"No," he said, "no, Rustle, don't look."

"Huh?"

Rustle tried to angle his head to left and right, but Howl would not let him see the damage that had been done.

"Rustle," Howl said when he had finally given up trying to steal a glance and looked reproachfully up at him instead.

"I'm going to take my paw away now, but before I do, I want you to promise me you aren't going to try and look. Will you do that for me?"

"But - But _**why**_ , sir?"

" _ **Now**_ , Rustle."

"Ohh… OK."

"Good," Howl said, his tone suddenly warm and full of sincerity, "Thank you."

Rustle shut his eyes again when Howl moved his paw away, and Pip watched as the Guardian then held his paw out directly above Rustle's heavily-bruised belly.

"Now, keep very still."

At these words, the outline of Howl's paw glowed a bright white, and from what seemed to sound like a great distance away was a humming noise so silent it was almost lost to the ears.

Stick took a nervous step away, and Rustle opened one eye to see what was going on, but Howl took no notice of either of them. It was clear he was concentrating hard.

Then at last, tiny specks of light began to fall from Howl's paw, drifting down like shining flakes of snow onto Rustle's stomach, and in the places on which they fell, there emitted a small pulsing wave like the ripples that spread across the water's surface when a pebble is thrown into its depths. The waves spread out in small circles along Rustle until they faded away into nothing.

Pip watched in mild bemusement, wondering just what on earth Howl was doing, but then he saw something happen which immediately brushed aside his skepticism.

As a speck of light landed beside a particularly deep bruise around the middle of Rustle's stomach, the pulse it emitted seemed to clear the bruise away.

Or was Pip just seeing things?

No, there was no mistaking it! It was as though the bruise was gradually mending as the white waves spread across it, and by the third or fourth time a wave had crossed it, it was almost completely healed.

But then there was a low, exhausted grunt, and the sparkles of light were no longer falling. The mysterious light surrounding Howl's paw had vanished, and the Guardian himself looked as though he had been drained of some invisible vitality.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a moment.

"Sir?" said Stick tentatively, "Are you OK, sir?"

"Yes… I'm fine…"

He opened his eyes and looked down.

"How about you, Rustle?" he asked.

Rustle pushed himself up feebly into a sitting position, and felt the places where the bruises had been. He was about to answer, but then he touched the place where the deepest bruise had still not yet fully healed and gasped sharply.

"Does it hurt?" Stick asked.

Rustle could manage no more of a reply than a mere, "Mm-hmm."

Howl said, "I'm afraid some of your injuries were too badly damaged to heal so quickly. But even so, Heal Pulse still isn't my finest Move…"

" _ **Heal pulse**_?" Pip repeated blankly under his breath. Howl seemed to have heard him and made to look up, but Pip had already averted his eyes.

Rustle's shuddering breaths had returned, and eventually they resumed into sobs.

"It's all right…" said Howl gently,

"It's over now. Those three are gone. They won't be bothering you again."

There was the sound of a light pat, and Rustle gave a loud sniff to try and calm himself down.

"Now," Howl's voice said, "let's get you back to your family, Rustle.

Can you walk on your own?

No?

…All right then. Here."

Pip looked, and saw Howl carefully lifting Rustle into his arms and straighten up to his full height again.

"You two had better come with us," he added, before turning and heading back towards the pathway. Stick followed without question, but Pip hesitated on the branch. He did not want to follow Howl anymore. What he wanted more than anything was to return to his hiding place and not come out again. But that place was not as safe as it had once been; its location had been discovered. Howl would know exactly where he had gone if he tried to slip away. And besides, Howl himself had told him that if he tried to hide away again, he would find him.

Pip swallowed. Although the thought of following Howl now made him feel scared, the idea of what it would be like for him to be trapped inside his hiding place and on the receiving side of Howl's anger…

"Pip, hurry up."

Pip felt his insides lurch.

"I-I'm coming!" he called, scrambling awkwardly down from the tree and hastening after them.

They walked on in silence; the two children and the Guardian of The Forest. The youngest of them, Rustle, held securely in his arms whilst Pip and Stick trotted diligently along behind him. Voices could be heard in the distance, growing louder and then steadily quieter as they neared one end of a path from the next.

Eventually Pip said cautiously,

"Um… Sir? Sir?" looking up uneasily at the back of his head.

"Not now," was his curt reply, "You and I will talk later."

That seemed to confirm Pip's worst fear: Howl _**was**_ angry with him.

No doubt he thought that Pip had been in with the bullies, but had only held back from punishing him because of some slight merciful tolerance. But still, there was no denying it now: he was in trouble.

He gulped to try and govern his nausea, and tried to prepare himself mentally for what was coming.

Eventually they reached the eating area once more, with the familiar sounds of light-hearted conversation and friendly banter ahead. Howl stood in the entrance and looked around to left and right, then after a moment, said to the two of them,

"Stay close to me," before moving on.

Pip did as instructed, and kept to Howl as they moved in-between the mass of Pokémon in the clearing. Admittedly there were fewer than there had been before, but it would have been almost impossible for him or Stick to find their own ways through, as they were both so small compared to everyone else around them.

As they passed by a group of who sounded like older female Pokémon, Howl slowed and tapped one of them on the shoulder, which stopped their conversation at once.

"Excuse me, madam," he said, "may I speak with you please? This way."

The Pokémon - whom Pip recognised as a Furret - sounded bemused, but she agreed and followed him, Stick and Pip through to the other end of the eating area and along a grassy lane so small and so well-shaded by the trees that it was almost invisible, but as the group followed it for a short while, and turned a corner right-ways, they finally came to a circular area completely bereft of grass, and where a tall and strong-looking tree stood in the middle of it.

Howl slowed to a halt, and turned around.

"What is it, sir?" the Furret asked; or began to ask before she saw the Pokémon in his arms.

"Rustle...?" she gasped, "Wha… What's happened?! Is he in trouble for something?!"

"No," Howl replied simply, passing him over to her. The instant Rustle was in his mother's arms he gave a silent wail, hugged her tightly and pressed his face into her fur.

"Wh-What is it?" she said, "Rustle, sweetheart, what's the matter?"

"The poor kid has had a rough morning," Howl said, "Not half an hour ago he was being bullied by three other children."

Rustle's mother gasped,

"What?! Did you say… bullied?!"

Howl explained clearly and as level-headedly as he could.

"Three of them…" Rustle's mother said when he'd finished, her voice suddenly weak and breathless, "And… And did you say they were throwing _**stones**_?"

"That's right."

Rustle's mother held her son cradle-like in her arms and looked down at his stomach.

"Ohh, my poor little…" Words failed her. All she could do was hold her son tight and make soothing, gentle sounds. Pip, who had receded under the shade of one of the trees to the side, felt a pang as memories of his own mother stirred within him.

"But wait…" she said at last, lifting Rustle's arm out of the way to look at his stomach,

"These bruises are all healed. Except for that one in the middle, they all look just fine…"

"How about that," Howl said expressionlessly.

She looked up at him. "Did you-?" She looked back down at the bruises and back to him again. "Did you do that? Did you heal him?"

"Yes."

"You-" Rustle's mother stared, and then leapt in to a blather of gratitude and praise,

"Oh, thank you, sir! Thank you!"

Howl waved a paw dismissively.

"Don't worry about it," he said, but before he could lower the paw, she seized it and said, "Thank you!" over and over again.

"Enough!" Howl said finally, "If you want to thank someone, thank Stick over there. If she hadn't found me, I'd have never known."

Rustle's mother looked toward where he'd indicated, and saw Stick standing awkwardly out of sight.

"Is that true?" she asked.

"Y-Yes, ma'am," said Stick shyly.

Rustle's mother moved over to her, crouched, and gave her a hug.

"Thank you so much, Stick," she said.

"You're welcome..." Stick replied, a warm blush suffusing her cheeks.

She straightened up again and turned back to Howl.

"Madam," Howl said in a courteous tone of voice, "forgive me, but I'd like to speak to these children now; in private. Could I ask you to leave us please?"

"Oh," she said, then, "yes. Yes, of course, sir. And thank you, thank you again."

She looked down at Rustle in her arms and gently licked a tuft of fur on his head.

"Rustle? What do you say to Mr. Howl, hmm?"

Rustle withdrew his tear-stained gaze from his mother's fur, wiped his eyes, and said quietly,

"Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

Howl smiled down at him.

"I hope you would do the same when you're grown up," he said.

Rustle's mother gave a short bow, and then left along the pathway, clutching her son close to her chest.

Howl waited until she had turned the corner and disappeared from view before beckoning Stick and Pip to him. The latter felt a cold chill run down his spine.

Howl had not so much as glanced in his direction whilst they had been in this tiny space, and Pip had thought himself perhaps unnoticed to him, yet his sideways gesture had been towards his exact location. He could have tried to sneak away at any moment, and Howl would have realised at once!

He obeyed, taking as long as he dared, and kept his gaze fixed firmly on the ground before him. When he was close to, he looked up and found that Howl had bent to one knee so he could look at them face-to-face, and that he was watching him closely.

His eyes glowed ominously, and were set in a deterring scowl. But then he remembered they had always looked like that, and now that he was closer, he could see that the fiery glow within them was a lot calmer; more like the fading light of embers than the blazing inferno they had been before.

'Maybe,' he thought, 'he won't shout at me, at least…'

But that was little comfort.

When they were both level with him, Howl looked from one to the other briefly. Then his gaze settled on Stick.

"Thank you, Stick, for telling me what was happening. As I said before, if you hadn't informed me Rustle was being bullied, he could have suffered even more until the damage became permanent. But thanks to you, he'll be just fine. Well done, child."

"Thank you…" said Stick, blushing furiously once more. Howl continued, "But I imagine it's going to be difficult for him to cope with what happened. Such a thing would truamatise anyone his age. He might find it difficult to speak to you every now and then, and he may even feel embarrassed or ashamed to show his face to you. Because you, after all, were the one who saved him. Try to be understanding and kind to him if that ends up being the case, and let him know your opinion of him hasn't changed.

He's going to need his friends now more than ever before.

Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. I understand."

"Good… And now," he glanced purposefully towards Pip,

"I'd like to speak to Pip here, also in private. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave us too. Why don't you go and find some of your other friends to play with in the meantime? Or if you wanted, you could go and keep Rustle company. But I'll see you again later and be sure to tell your parents just what you did.

Now go. Away with you."

Stick nodded, and made her way towards the path. But just before leaving, she looked round.

"Sir…?"

"What?"

"Is Rustle… gonna be okay?"

There was a short pause.

"Yes," said Howl firmly, "he will. As long as he doesn't exert himself and eats Oran Berries with every morning and evening meal, he should be completely recovered in about a day.

There's no need to worry."

Stick seemed to be reassured.

Thanking Howl once more and bidding him a last farewell, she walked away along the path at a pace which, to Pip, seemed to take forever. But finally they saw Stick's almost imperceptible figure turn left along the grassy pathway and vanish.

Pip felt his ears and tail droop. It was finally time. He wished his heart would stop beating so fast, then at least he could try to dredge up some of the strength he'd found before. But was there any point in it now? Was it likely Howl would be slightly more forgiving if he showed some spirit along with his guilt?

…No, probably not.

He sensed movement beside him, and suddenly all thought of spirit was gone.

With awful trepidation, he turned slowly towards the noise and looked up.

Howl's expression was inscrutable. He looked angry, but then he reminded himself again, that was just the way his eyes looked. He tried to spot any obvious signs of danger, or any visual signs of bodily tension, but there were none. Howl was just looking at him, as though he were almost waiting for Pip to speak in his own defense.

An odd sound, something between a nervous exclamation and an attempt at speech was shaken from him, and before Pip could stop himself, he looked away to hide his embarrassment.

Howl made a quiet, contented sound, and finally he spoke,

"You truly are their son. Through and through."

Pip was unsure if he had heard him right, until he felt a large paw at the top of his head gently ruffle the fur between his ears.

"I'm proud of you, Pip. You did very well."

Finally Pip looked up again, and saw that Howl was smiling. It was then, in that very moment that he realised he had never really registered it before: Howl's smile was incredible. It gave a vast impression of paternal compassion, strength, and knowledge beyond his years. It was the kind of smile that made him feel undeniably safe, as though as long as he stayed right by Howl's side, no dangers in the world would be able to even get close.

He struggled to find his voice.

"Yuh-… You're not… angry?"

Howl's brow furrowed.

"Why would I be angry?" he asked.

"Ah - I-I just… I thought…" Pip shook his head. "What do you mean I did well? I didn't do anything. - S-Sir," he added for safety.

"Modesty," the Lucario chuckled, then, "Yes, you did, Pip. You did do something, and I know for a fact most children your age would have struggled to attempt it against just _**one**_ bully."

"I don't understand."

"Don't you?"

"N-No, sir."

"You stood up to them. More specifically, you stood up for someone else's sake.

You didn't even know Rustle, but you realised he was a victim, and tried to stop Patrat, Treecko and Purrloin from tormenting him any farther.

That was very noble."

"Not really…" Pip mumbled, guiltily lowering his eyes to the ground, "I didn't really make any difference, did I? I just kind of stalled 'em for a bit, but I didn't actually make them stop."

But on the word 'stop' Howl suddenly said sternly,

"Hey. I'm up here."

"Sorry!" Pip said, and immediately looked Howl straight in the eye,

"I mean… I didn't really make any difference, did I? Sir, you were the one who really made them stop in the end…"

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Howl concurred, "But it doesn't matter how they were stopped in the end. You could have just turned your back and run away - most children would've done when bullies threatened to start throwing stones at them too, as they did to you.

But you didn't run away. You wouldn't let them carry on hurting Rustle. You stood your ground and flat-out _**told**_ them to stop, even with the full knowledge that you could've ended up right beside him on that tree.

That takes a certain strength of character."

Pip opened his mouth to speak, but found he had no idea what to say in response to this statement, and then closed it again.

He felt his warmth spread slowly across his cheeks, but at the same time he felt a different kind of warmth in the centre of his chest. He didn't think what he had done was nearly as good or heroic as Howl had made it sound, and he especially didn't believe that most children would have just run away if someone was being hurt right before their eyes; and yet Howl's words had had a curious, forthright sort of quality to them, so that even in the depths of his humility, Pip couldn't help but believe that what he said was true.

"I guess so," he mumbled, unable to prevent a smile from working its way to the corners of his mouth.

"Sir?" he said, after a brief silence had passed between them, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"What, um… What're the rules here, sir? In The Forest?"

Howl looked at him, his expression quizzical.

"Why do you want to know that?"

"I dunno, sir, I just… I think it'd be pretty good to know, just so I don't break any of them by mistake."

" _ **By mistake**_?" Howl repeated skeptically.

"Yeah," said Pip compellingly, "I mean, you were really-" But he realised the rest of his sentence and stopped himself just in time.

"I was really… what?" Howl asked.

"Nuh-Nothing. Nothing, sir."

"That didn't sound like nothing…"

"No, sir, really, it's… nothing."

Howl sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Speak your mind, Pip. You're not going to be scolded for telling the truth.

If you have something you want to say, then speak up."

Now Pip felt he had no choice but to complete his sentence. But he couldn't actually say what he'd been about to; but he didn't want to refuse either. He'd have to think his words through carefully.

"Um…" he began awkwardly, "I just… Well…" Until finally he focused on making his voice as bland and sincere as he could,

"I just don't want to get in trouble."

His voice had been completely steady, and from what he could tell, his face had been blank and devoid of any nervousness, but regardless, understanding slowly dawned on Howl's face.

"Ah," he said, "Yes… I see."

Pip felt suddenly uncomfortable, and lowered his eyes to the ground. He could tell Howl had figured out what he had really meant.

"That's not how I'd have chosen for you to see me…" Howl said.

Pip swallowed. 'Look up' he thought. But somehow he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"You were really angry…" he mumbled.

"Yeah, well… I did warn them I would be if they carried on the way they were.

…But still. I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't frighten you, did I?"

"No," said Pip at once, meeting Howl's eyes firmly in the hopes of reinforcing his response.

"N-Not really…" he added a second later.

"…A little bit."

Howl breathed a weary sigh. When he sighed, he sounded so tired and so much older than he really was. Pip had thought when they had first met, because of Howl's demeanor and composure, that he _**was**_ truly old. But recently he had come to the realisation that he was not, in fact old, but quite young; younger even than Pip's parents - his fur seemed to have only just begun to darken slightly from the vividness that was a young Lucario's fur - yet he seemed so wise, so experienced… and so very alone. The way he had spoken to Pip before about the loss of someone important had been unnervingly precise, as though he himself really _**had**_ lost someone close to him, and yet he'd said he had never been raised by his own parents…

Oh, it was so unclear to Pip. But there was one thing he could be sure of. The Pokémon before him had suffered, and gained strength and knowledge through terrible ordeals, made evident by the scars he now saw scattered across his arms and paws. But it was not just physically he had suffered. There was, to be sure, an emotional scar that had still not fully healed.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Howl said finally, "It was them I was hoping to scare, not you."

"It's okay, sir, really… it's not your fault."

"No, it is my fault. I should've told you to leave, but since you'd just shown up among other Pokémon, I wanted to keep an eye on you."

He shook his head.

"Please, Pip, try to understand. I didn't punish them because I wanted to, I just can't afford to be soft on the evils in this forest. Instead, I have to stamp them out, and sometimes… if a rule-breaker will not listen to reason, I will have to give them a bit more motivation to stop."

"I get it, sir, I really do," said Pip earnestly, "But that's why I want to know, sir! What rules are they?"

"Well… it's simple. In fact, they aren't _**rules**_ that were merely thought up and laid down one morning, they're more like morals than rules.

Every Pokémon in this forest is told when they arrive that they are not to cause fear, pain, or any form of distress to others who are here. If however, it's a matter of mutual hostility between two Pokémon that they can settle like adults, then they're entitled to do so, however they wish. But if there is an aggressor and a victim, we will _**always**_ intervene."

" _ **We**_?" Pip repeated.

"Yes, we. Mist and I. The two of us stand as the 'leaders' of The Forest, if you will."

Pip thought about what had been said for a moment, and was about to ask a question, when he heard light footsteps from the end of the pathway.

"Ah," Howl exclaimed, standing up, "Mist. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," replied a feminine voice, "I saw you heading in here with Rustle and his mother, and I couldn't help but wonder what…" She broke off and said, "Oh! Who's this?"

Pip had never felt quite so small before. He could not see the face of the Pokémon who had joined them, and he could no longer see Howl's face either, he tried to lift his head to see the newcomer, but found the light from the sky dazzling his eyes so much that he had to look away.

Howl answered her, "This is Pip. You remember, Espeon's son? I thought that you knew each other…"

"Pip?" she said blankly, "No, I… can't say I remember that name."

"Really…?"

Pip felt his heartbeat quicken. He could tell by the sound of his voice that Howl was eying him suspiciously.

The newcomer approached and crouched down until she was level with his height, and Howl took a step back from them both.

"So you're Pip, are you?"

"Mm-hmm," Pip replied, feeling suddenly shy. The voice of the Pokémon named Mist was deeply mellifluous and gentle. A voice that was wonderfully pleasant to the ears.

"I'm Mist," she said unconcernedly, holding her hand out to him,

"Pleased to meet you."

Pip looked up finally, and suddenly all the breath left his lungs; for Mist was a Gardevoir, and the most beautiful Pokémon Pip had ever seen in his entire life.

"…Hi…" he managed to say, raising his paw and placing it into her palm. She closed her hand lightly around his paw and shook it once, very gently. Then she gave a little flustered laugh at the sight of his reddening cheeks.

"Every single time…" she said, letting go, "I only say 'pleased to meet you,' but as soon as I do, they always start blushing… Why? I just don't get it… Is it the __way I say it? Is it something about me?"

"I have a theory," Howl said from out of sight. Then, "Wait... Mist, you haven't met Pip before?"

"No," she said, looking towards him.

Pip felt the warmth suddenly leave his cheeks, and felt his heart begin to race again.

"Pip, I thought you told me that Mist here told you to gather water from the lake this morning," Howl said.

"Umm…" Pip hesitated to reply.

"Were you lying to me?" Howl asked, amused.

"Umm…" Pip said again, but before anyone could say another word, Pip's stomach rumbled.


	8. Chapter Seven

_**Chapter Seven:**_

 _ **Shallow Waters**_

"Here, Pip. Try one of these," said Mist, peeling the skin off of a small, tough fruit and making it levitate towards him until it hovered right before where he sat. Pip took a brief look at it, and said almost immediately,

"No thank you, Miss. I don't really like those."

"Oh, come on now," said Mist jovially, "I know they don't look great, but they taste much better than you'd think."

"Mmm… No thanks. I had one of them before, and I felt like I was gonna be sick all over the place…"

"Did you peel off the skin before you ate it?"

"Um…" Pip shook his head.

"Well then, no wonder you felt sick," she said with a soft laugh, "You don't have to eat all of it, but do _**try**_ some of it, at least. Here."

And she made the fruit break into pieces for him before making the near-entirety of them soar through the air back into her hand, leaving only one remaining in front of him, smiling sweetly as she did so. Pip could then not bring himself to say no any further. He took the piece of the fruit in his paw and looked at it curiously.

Howl watched this brief debate with a small smile. This was one of the things he enjoyed most about Mist's company; not only was she was one of most kind-hearted Pokémon he had ever known, but she was also exceptional at handling children in a way he could not fathom. His methods merely involved treating them as no more or less than an equal, the same way he treated everyone else he knew, though perhaps his choice of words and commanding nature varied depending on how old or young they were, or how close they were to him as a friend.

"Well?" she asked as Pip chewed the fruit silently, "How is it? Good? Not good? ...So-so?"

Pip did not answer immediately. He continued to chew for a moment, until finally he swallowed the piece, and gazed open-mouthed at the rest of the fruit in Mist's hand.

"Can I have some more, please?" he asked.

"Of course."

The three of them were sat at the head of the eating area, with almost no-one else present by this time except for a few who had stayed behind to continue their conversations. Occasionally Howl had caught a few of them looking in their direction, but there was no need for him to explain; it had become almost traditional for a newcomer Pokémon to sit and talk with the esteemed leaders of The Forest. Not so that they could be questioned and cross-examined, but simply to talk and establish acquaintance with one another. So whatever it was that the observers thought could be going on with Mist, Howl, and the unknown child was probably not that far from the truth.

Howl silently ate his way through an apple and let the two of them talk, his mind lingering elsewhere. He couldn't help but remember fondly how he and his fellow guild recruits had used to gather together at mealtimes like this and talk of their success with the day's mission, each always adding boastful comments and lavish details of how they (along with the other recruit they had been paired with for the mission) had barely snatched victory from within the jaws of defeat in the battle against their target; or how they had arrived in the nick of time to rescue the Missing Pokémon from certain death.

But of course, it had almost always been made-up. Even Howl had added in certain details and stories of his own days' adventures that had not been entirely truthful. But everyone had known it, and everyone had willingly participated. If they had all told the truth every day, after all, the tradition would have become dull in no time, and everyone had enjoyed it far too much to let it go. All that had really mattered in those busy, arduous times was keeping ones spirits high.

Every day after his mission, no matter how well or poorly it had gone, or whom he had been paired with, Howl had always looked forward to the upcoming evening, always looked forward to telling everyone of his triumphs, or to hear of theirs instead.

"Howl!" came Mist's voice.

He blinked and looked at her.

"Y-Yeah?" he said.

"Ugh! Were you listening to us at all? Pip was talking to you, and you were staring off into space like we weren't even here."

"Oh," he replied, "Sorry, Pip. What was it you wanted to say?"

"Just, um…" Pip said, "You remember what you said before? About how if I still wanted to… y'know… after breakfast?"

Howl looked at him for a moment, somewhat puzzled, then he remembered.

"Ah! Yes. So you still want to, then?"

"Yes please," said Pip, and Howl saw his tail raise slightly eagerly.

"I should warn you though, Pip, I' not a gentle teacher. The lessons will not end until I'm convinced you've learned all that you can from me, and today's lesson won't end until you've mastered the technique I've taught you, even if we have to carry on into the night. We'll have today's session, and if you think it's too much and you don't want to carry on with them, I'll give you _**one**_ chance to tell me so. Any time after that, it'll be too late.

You still want to go through with it?"

Pip was silent for a few seconds, then he said determinedly,

"Yes, sir."

Howl smiled. "All right then. You ready to go now?"

Pip nodded.

"Sorry," said Mist, "but can one of you please explain to me what you're talking about? I don't know whether I should be concerned or not."

Howl looked from her to Pip, and realised that he had deliberately held back from naming what they were about to do.

"Pip, there's no need to be embarrassed about it in front of Mist. She won't care," he said. But Pip still seemed uncertain, so he turned to Mist himself.

"Pip here doesn't know how to swim. He's asked me to teach him, and I promised him I would."

There was the sound a stifled exclamation of outrage, and Howl smirked when he saw the expression on the little Pokémon's face.

"Oh," said Mist, then, "That's okay, Pip. There's no need to be embarrassed about that."

Pip, however, _**was**_ embarrassed. He scowled up at Howl, who looked back as though he were nothing short of amused.

"That's a relief," Mist continued, "I was worried that you might've arranged something…

…Err, well, it doesn't matter what I thought. Okay then, Howl, see you later. Good luck, Pip."

The corners of Pip's mouth twitched slightly and he mumbled a shy thanks. Howl made to start towards the exit, but just as Pip also began to move, Mist caught Howl by the arm and whispered to him,

"Please don't be too hard on him. Okay?"

He couldn't help but stare.

"What? What do you mean?" he asked, watching out of the corner of his eye as Pip moved past.

"Look, Howl, I know you don't mean to be, but sometimes you can come across as a bit… harsh. It tends to put children on edge, and if you ask me, Pip can't seem to decide whether he likes you or if he's scared of you.

Look, all I'm saying is, be gentle with him. Okay?"

"But if I'm gentle with him-"

"I know, I know! But believe it or not, the downright _**brutal**_ way they trained you in your guild isn't the only way to teach someone something! Just… tone it down a bit, all right? Be patient."

"I _**am**_ patient!"

"Sir?" came Pip's voice. Both Howl and Mist simultaneously turned their heads to see Pip standing right beside them, glancing from one to the other curiously, "Miss Mist? What're you guys talking about?"

"-Nothing.-"

"-Nothing, Pip.-" they replied at the same time.

Pip looked at them both with one ear lowered and another upright, tilting his head to the side, making him look like the embodiment of suspicion.

"Come on," Howl said, slipping his arm out of Mist's grip, "let's go."

The lake, they found, was mercifully empty. Howl had been expecting it to be teeming with all sorts of forest-dwellers by this time, as it usually was. But to his surprise, he saw that the only occupants were a small group sitting on a shoreline far away who seemed to be engaged in no more activity than idle conversation.

'The Forest certainly is lazy today,' he thought.

Then Pip voiced what they were both wondering,

"Where is everybody?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, "The lake's usually full around now…"

"Do you think everyone's okay?"

"Of course they are. I suppose someone's probably found something, or come up with some new game that's sparked everyone's interest for now. Anyway, I'm not complaining. Now we'll be able to focus on your lesson without anyone else getting in the way."

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess that's true."

Howl picked up on the worried note in Pip's voice, and decisively moved towards the lake's bank, where he knelt and dipped his paw into the clear water.

The lake seemed to have cooled slightly since earlier that morning. It was not cold to be sure, but it was nowhere near as warm and enticing as he had hoped it would be.

Well, that just couldn't be helped.

Pip joined him at the bank and imitated him, dipping his paw in the water and sucking the air through his teeth as his fur was soaked through.

"It's cold," he said.

"It's colder than you, yes, but it's not genuinely cold," Howl replied.

"How cold can it get, sir?"

"Oh, it's been much worse than this. You know, one winter, the entire lake was frozen over."

"Really?"

"Yep. This whole area was once completely covered in ice and snow. Mind you, The Forest looked stunning that day.

That is… it did. Until the kids started making, uh… inappropriate snow-mons.

And drawing things in the snow.

…And _**writing**_ things in the snow.

Then The Forest was stunning in a completely different way."

He ran his paw through the lake water once more and turned to Pip again.

"So," he said, "how much do you know about swimming already?"

"Umm…" Pip twisted his mouth, narrowed his eyes in concentration, then at last said, "Nothing."

Howl stared.

"Okay... I'll ask you again:

Pip, how much do you already know about swimming?"

"Sorry, sir," said Pip earnestly, "I really don't know anything."

"Come on now, you must have _**some**_ experience. What about when you and your family were trying to reach The Forest? Don't tell me you managed to completely avoid travelling through water…"

"Uh… Sorry, sir, but you're right. We did. My dad, he… he was a Fire-Type, so obviously he couldn't swim, and we all thought we shouldn't ever split up if we could avoid it, so if we ever came across deep water, we'd just try to find a way around it."

Howl managed to repress a sigh - remembering what Mist had said to him about being patient.

"All right… Then, have you ever swam before at all?"

Pip was silent for a moment.

"Well… I did try to once. It was just a little while after I came here. Y'know, just before… before…"

"Before your mother left."

"Y-Yeah. I saw someone else - someone who's body was the same shape as mine swimming, and I thought I'd give it a try, but instead I almost drowned…"

"You didn't drown, though?"

"No. I managed to get back to shore."

Howl nodded.

"That's good. You seem to have guessed some of the basic idea. That should make things easier for me to explain."

Howl spent the next half hour clarifying Pip on how his natural body shape would make it easy for him to swim once he understood what he was meant to do. All he would have to remember, he told him, was that as long as he kept on moving and held his head up high, he would be able to remain afloat.

"Also," Howl said, "you're going to have to angle your feet in a certain way in order to move more effectively. Here, hold up your paw and I'll show you."

Pip obeyed, and mimicked the position Howl held his own paw in, copying his movement as he demonstrated precisely how he should strike through the water.

Howl taught him how to strike with both his front and hind legs until he thought Pip had finally learned all that he was going to through theory.

"All right," he said after a few more demonstration drills and memory testing, "are you ready?"

"Yes, sir!" said Pip, sounding confident and excited.

Howl stepped into the water and indicated for Pip to follow, walking forwards until the water was up to his stomach.

Pip dipped his paw into the lake for a second time, and Howl saw his tail give a sharp jolt.

"Come on then," he said, as though he had not noticed.

"Okay," Pip replied apprehensively, "Okay, just… give me one second."

Howl waited.

Until after several minutes when he was still the only one present in the lake, he finally approached the shore again, knelt directly before Pip and held out his paw, palm upwards.

"Here."

Pip eyed his paw warily. "You're not gonna pull me in, are you?"

"Wh-? No." Howl replied with a small laugh.

Finally the little one extended his own paw and placed it with the utmost caution into Howl's open palm.

"Yes," Howl said suddenly.

"What?! NO!" But it was too late. Howl gripped his paw tightly before he could wrench it back and tugged him with apparent ease into the water.

"You JERK!" Pip shouted as his fur was drenched in the lake's chill.

Howl was about to reply, but Pip suddenly swung his tail around and splashed a small wave of water at him, which he blocked with his paw.

"Pip…!" he said as he continued to spatter him with water,

"You might want to rethink this idea…!"

Pip continued to swing his tail with even more vigour.

"You're not going to win this game…!" Howl said, and finally, "All right! You asked for it!" And he swung his whole arm around and caused a great surge of water to lunge forward and drench Pip from head to tail.

"Aaahh! No, okay, okay! Stop it! Stop it!" Pip wailed, trying to push his way through the shallow water to escape, but Howl simply walked after him and continued to force great waves down upon him.

"Augh! STOP IT!" Pip shouted desperately, in spite of the fact that his own words were both followed and proceeded by laughter. Howl couldn't help but laugh a little as well, as he moved around Pip, blocking one escape route after another, and forced wave after wave upon him. Finally Pip scrambled onto the bank and made to pull himself up onto shore, but as soon as he was off-balance, Howl said,

"Nope!" Grabbed his hind legs, pulled him away and dangled him upside-down.

"I win," he said flatly.

"Nu-uh!" Pip retorted breathlessly, "I'm not done yet!"

"You… might want to take in your situation."

"This is nothing!" Pip panted as he tried again and again to curl upwards and land a strike at Howl's paw.

"Let go of me!" he said finally, "This isn't fair! You're cheating, sir!"

"I would never!" Howl drawled, "I would never stoop so low as to cheat a child out of what was _**clearly**_ going to be a victory for them. I won against you fair and square. Now say the words 'I surrender' and I'll put you down."

"No way! I want a rematch! Put me down and fight fair!"

"No rematches. Now, 'I surrender'…"

"NEVER!" said Pip fearlessly.

" _ **Never**_?" Howl repeated, a sly smile curving his lips, "Well, maybe I'll just…"

It was a moment before Pip seemed to realise just how close the water below was drawing to him.

"AAGH-No-please-okay-I'msorry-Imeanit - I MEAN IT!"

He froze in mid-air with the tip of his nose an inch away from touching the water, and Howl laughed.

"I'm just joking…" he chuckled, setting Pip gently down on land, where he slumped onto his stomach.

"That wasn't fair…!" Pip panted finally, shaking his body dry until his fur stood on end all over him, "You're supposed to go easy on me."

"Hah! Pip, the fact that you'd say that proves how much you have yet to learn about me. I don't go easy on anyone – not even children."

"You're mean, sir."

"Yes, I know. Again, you've got a lot to learn."

Pip scowled up at him, but Howl took not the slightest notice, and allowed a minute to pass so Pip could regain his breath.

"All right. Now Let's start your lesson properly. No more messing around." Howl waded his way towards deeper waters until the spike on his chest and all above it was all that remained dry.

"Here. This should do," he said, turning back, "Now, I want you to-"

But Pip, he saw, was still hesitating on the shore. He broke off in mid-sentence and waited for him to step into the water, but still he did not move.

Wearily he approached him again and knelt down.

"I'm scared…" Pip said before he could ask the question.

"Scared? Of what?"

"I… I'm scared I might drown."

Howl said nothing. He was somewhat bemused, but he waited for the right moment to speak.

"What makes you think you're going to drown?" he asked as soon as Pip looked him in the eye.

"I almost did last time."

"You didn't drown, though. You're still here to talk about it, after all."

"W-Well, yeah, but I _**almost**_ did."

"But you _**didn't**_ ," Howl stated adamantly, "If it didn't happen last time, when you were alone and had no idea what you were doing, what makes you think it'll happen now?"

"I-I… I don't know…"

"You're scared because you think it's still a possibility, right?"

"Um… Yeah. Yeah, that's it."

"I see. Well, you're wrong.

It's not a possibility and it's not going to happen. Perhaps you'd like to guess why?"

"U-Umm, really? Really, sir, You actually want me to-"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"O-Ohkay. 'Cause, um… you're not going to let me drown?"

"Obviously.

There is nothing in this lake for me to be distracted by, and I'm not going to let you swim in water deep enough for you to drown."

"N-No, sir! I know! It's not that, it's just… w-well…"

"Oh? Then what is it?"

Pip twisted his mouth. He seemed awkward, as though he did not quite know either what was worrying him.

"Pip," Howl said, motioning for him to make eye-contact again,

"Pip, look at me."

He did as he was told.

"You're safe to go into the lake, and you're not going to drown. Because I promise you that if you do sink underwater, even slightly, I will catch you and pull you back up.

All right?"

"…OK."

Howl looked at him probingly for a moment, searching for any disbelief, then he nodded and backed away to allow Pip room to step into the lake.

It took Pip a short while to work up the courage to re-enter what, from his perspective, was nothing but a vast, bone-chilling ocean, but after dipping one paw after the other at a time and becoming more familiar with it, he plunged himself forwards in what looked like an odd combination of a dive and a leap. Howl could tell that the drop was shallower than he had estimated, for among the small splash he heard, there was a quiet, "Oof!"

"Now," he said, "one more time: remember what you're supposed to do?"

Pip recited each and every instruction with almost word-perfect precision.

"Very good," Howl said, backing towards where he had stood before.

Pip seemed to brace himself. Drawing deep breaths, his expression becoming set and determined. And finally he began to move slowly forwards.

Howl tensed his stance beneath the water, ready to sweep forwards at any moment. Finally Pip's head was the only part of him not submerged, and as he reached deeper waters he seemed to find that there was suddenly nothing more for him to place his foot on.

He spluttered slightly and staggered. Howl started cautiously towards him, contemplating whether he was in peril or simply having a minor struggle, but before he could take more than a few slow steps, Pip saw him coming and tried to push his way towards him without seeming to realise just what he was doing.

Howl stopped in his tracks and stood completely still, watching Pip draw steadily closer and closer. Then, as Pip was roughly three meters away from him, he gave a strangled, waterlogged cough and sank ever so slightly.

"Easy, don't panic!" Howl said, tensing up again, "You're doing fine, just keep going!"

Pip looked at him through wide eyes and fought to make himself move onward, his legs working furiously until Howl finally swept forwards and caught him around the middle just as his head began to fall beneath the water.

"Th… Thankyu-" Pip tried to say as he steered him back to shore, but he coughed and retched in midsentence. He had inhaled a lot of water. Howl made a gruff sound as a response.

"Well," he said, "that was-"

"Terrible," Pip wheezed, giving another little sequence of coughs.

"No it wasn't," Howl replied plainly, "There's no way you could've done perfectly on your first try. What went wrong?"

It took a while for Pip to respond, but after a few more coughs and shaky breaths, he said,

"I'm not sure. I think I…ah-" He broke off and heaved again.

"What went wrong, Pip? Think. You struggled a little when you started off, but once you got the hang of it, you were doing just fine. Then all of a sudden, you started struggling again. Why?"

"I-I don't know, sir! I… I couldn't go on!"

"You couldn't go on? What, as in you were worn out?"

"Ye-…Yeah," Pip said hesitantly.

"Hmm…"

Howl let his mind wander back to the moment, trying to remember clearly what he had seen from his position before he had leapt to Pip's aid.

"You _**were**_ breathing pretty fast," he said finally.

"Huh?"

"Before you started flailing around like a mad-mon, you were doing very well for a beginner. Your posture was good, your paddling pace was quick, and you weren't getting distracted or going off-track. But I could hear you breathing almost all the way from the shallow end."

"So?"

"So that's what was wearing you out. You weren't giving your body the appropriate amount of oxygen. Swimming for a long time can be tiring, but the activity itself isn't that strenuous. Try taking deep breaths rather than short, quick ones like before.

Come on, let's try again. Same as last time."

The second attempt had some minor improvements. For one, Pip had no trouble with the change in the ground level. Instead, he knew what to expect and was ready for the sudden drop, paddling his way forward flawlessly and breathing - as instructed - slowly and steadily. But he had only made it to more or less the same place before his paws collided against one another, causing him to lose balance and once again sink, and once again have to be guided back to shore.

Pip seemed to lose confidence and focus with every little mistake he made, so that by the time the fourth and fifth attempts had failed he could barely keep himself afloat. After only an hour, and not even half-way through his eighth try and he began to thrash and call,

"Sir?! SIR?!"

"Calm down," Howl said, moving towards him, "You're alright. Just-"

"SIR, HELP!"

"Just calm down," Howl said again, holding out his paw, "and breathe."

Pip flung himself forward and clutched Howl's paw as if it were the land itself, and he breathed so unsteadily it sounded as though he'd truly believed he had been about to sink for the very last time.

Howl felt him quivering on the back of his paw.

He spoke,

"Pip."

No response.

"Pip!"

A quiet, "Mmph…" escaped the little one, and he looked up.

"I can't do it…" he mumbled shakily, "I… I can't."

"Don't even say that to me…" Howl replied, his voice equally quiet, though with much more force in his, "Of course you can't do it - you can't do it _**now**_. That doesn't mean you won't _**ever**_. What's worth learning is worth working for.

Don't think you're going to get any sympathy from me by whining."

"I'm not whining, sir! I mean it! It's too hard…!"

"Of course it's hard. I just told you, that's why you need to keep at it. Believe me, I've seen cases like yours more times than I can count, and if you're anything like the others, swimming will be almost second-nature for you by next week, at least. You just need to keep at it."

Pip's gaze drifted downwards, then he shook his head.

"No... There's no point in me keeping at it. I'm getting worse, not better.

Sir, please… can we… can we stop?"

He looked up with lowered ears into Howl's eyes, which were gleaming in the reflected sunlight.

"Humph," Howl grunted at last, "…Fine."

Pip felt himself being steered to shore once again, and when he was near enough, he grabbed onto the earth at the edge of the lake and pulled himself onto warm, dry earth. Stable, familiar and safe.

He heard Howl ascend the water beside him and saw him move on past without so much as a backward glance until he finally sat down by the roots of a tree deluged in the warm sunlight, rested his head against its trunk, and closed his eyes.

Pip felt suddenly unsettled.

He pushed himself stiffly upright and approached the Guardian slowly and apprehensively

He opened his mouth to speak, but then something gleamed, briefly stealing his attention, and as soon as he saw exactly what it – what _**they**_ were, his breath was cut off.

It seemed as though every time he got closer to him, Howl inexplicably gained more scars somewhere along his body - but now…!

His fur darkened and soaked flat against his strong body revealed more scars than Pip could count, all gleaming under the sun, and none more prominent than a monstrous slash directly across his chest, from his shoulder to the opposite bottom rib.

"Howl…?" he said cautiously, "…Sir?"

A single crimson eye opened and flicked towards him.

"I haven't made you sad, have I, sir?

'Cause I - 'Cause that's not what I meant to do. Please, don't be sad. It's just that I… W-Well, you know I'm awful at swimming, so I don't want to waste your time trying to when I can't even…" His voice tailed away.

"Take a break," Howl said, "The way you are right now, we're not going to make progress anytime soon. So rest now, and pull yourself together."

"Sorry?" Pip exclaimed, bewildered, then he realised Howl's mistake and said very hastily,

"Oh-no-no-no, sir, I, um… When I asked if we could stop, I didn't mean take a break, I meant-"

"I know what you meant," Howl said coldly,

"Sorry to break it to you, but you're not getting out of this that easily. The lesson is still going on."

"Oohhh! Sir, _**why**_? What's the point?"

"Why indeed?"

Pip stared open-mouthed, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

"I'll give you ten minutes," Howl continued, "In those ten minutes, you're going to come up with your own reasons for continuing with this lesson.

Of course, if you don't come up with any, you could always sit here and have to me lecture you on why you should continue, but I doubt you'd even listen to me if we did that, and in any case, I don't have the patience for it in the first place.

You can go into your hiding place if you want, and you can go anywhere around the lake, but you're not to leave this 'area'. If you do that, I'll assume you're trying to sneak away… and I will not be happy."

"Siirr…!" Pip droned when Howl rested his paws behind his head as though he were making himself comfortable, "Sir, come on, pleeaase…!"

"Don't waste your breath. This lesson is happening whether you want it to or not. If you seriously can't stand it, I won't force you to take any more afterwards. But you asked for this one."

"I change my mind!"

"Too bad. You're swimming, so just come to peace with it.

Your ten minutes start… now."

"Sir!"

But Howl closed his eyes again and gave not the slightest indication he'd heard him. Pip glowered and stuck out his tongue before turning and storming away.

"Stupid butthead," he muttered.

"I heard that."

Pip jumped, glanced fearfully back, and hurried away as quickly as he could.

Howl watched him go until he stopped somewhere between the place where the onlookers were and where Howl himself was seated. Pip paced about slightly, then Howl saw him finally lie down on his front and tuck his paws in whilst his tail continued to swing irritably from side to side.

He smirked and looked out across the lake, counting in his head as the first minute proceeded onto the next.

"Five minutes left," he called out when it was due.

He looked towards where he had last seen Pip, and noticed that the group of onlookers had left. The two of them were quite alone. At his words, Pip's ears and tail twitched, but he did not look up or respond. Howl was not concerned, and continued the countdown in his head.

Fifty meters or so away, Pip was grumbling bitterly to himself, glaring towards the Pokémon dozing beneath the sunbathed tree.

It was unfair. Stupid, pointless and unfair. Why should he have to do what Howl told him to? He had the right to refuse if he didn't want to carry on! Sure, he had asked for this lesson, but it was pointless to bother with continuing it now! He couldn't swim if his life had depended on it! Why in the world should they carry on when it was obviously a skill he was not meant to have?

These thoughts rebounded back and forth in his mind, and he dug his claws into the grass beneath him, seething. But after a few moments, he pulled them back and let out a slow breath. He had wasted enough time already. He ought to come up with at least three good reasons to carry on, or risk Howl's lecture.

Pip closed his eyes and rummaged in his brain for some kind of idea, something at least persuasive if not encouraging. He cast about the trees behind him as though hoping an idea would present itself to him out of the air, but as his line of sight swept over the vicinity directly behind him, he saw something that completely diverted his attention, and immediately halted all of his thought processes.

Four minutes left

Three minutes left.

Two minutes left.

"Pip! Time's almost up," Howl called, and again there was no responding call.

He opened his eyes and looked towards where he knew Pip to be, but there was no-one there.

"Pip?"

He stood up and looked around to the other end of the lake, which was just as deserted as this side.

"Pip?

…Where are you?"

He approached the spot where he had been and looked around all over, then he saw a pathway littered with old, dry leaves, leading straight through the trees and into a space he was all too familiar with. It was not a space that had been formed naturally; it had been created by The Forest-dwellers. Proposed, planned, and finally constructed through the diligence and nobility of all who lived there. Stronger and more craft-minded Pokémon leading the task, of course, but everyone - Bird-Pokémon and even children - had contributed to it in some way, so that part of them all would have place in its creation. And there, at the other end of the path, standing in the middle of the space was a small figure who was easily recognisable.

Howl glanced back briefly over his shoulder, checking if anyone else was nearby, before proceeding forwards along the path.

Pip's gaze moved from left to right to directly ahead, then to left and right again and again. He wasn't sure exactly what it was he was looking at. The more he studied these things, whatever they were, the more details he noticed about them, and then the less sense they made to him. There were three of these strange objects, as far as he could tell. One was ahead of him, one was to his left, and another was to his right. From what he could make out, they had once been trees. But why had they grown _**here**_ of all places? And more noticeably, why had all of their branches, leaves and crowns been removed? What were those strange little symbols and markings etched into their trunks? Why had one of the trees - the one straight ahead of him - been spared the removal of its crown and have flowers planted all around its roots?

Leaves crunched underfoot somewhere behind him, and he turned sharply around.

"S-Sir!" he exclaimed, his heartbeat quickening, "I-I'm not sneaking away, I promise!"

"I know," Howl said simply, coming to a halt and looking from one tree to the other, just as he had been doing,

"I know."

Pip noticed a forlorn look in his eyes and followed them towards one tree in particular, which seemed, comparatively, to have less etchings on it than the other two. But the way it also differed from its fellows was how some of the etchings here and there had been crossed off. Direct, narrow lines drawn right through them.

Then Pip felt a spark of realisation: they were not _**markings**_ or _**symbols**_ that were etched into the trees; they were names! Names of other Pokémon! But why had some of them been crossed off?

Just what in the world _**was**_ …

"What is this place, sir?"

Howl's eyes darted briefly down towards him, then he held out a paw to indicate all three trees simultaneously.

"These are The Family Trees," he said.

"The… Family Trees?" Pip echoed uncertainly.

"That's right. You may have figured it out already, but this isn't a natural area. At least, not strictly speaking. I guess you could call it a kind of shrine. Each tree shows the names of different Pokémon, and each tree holds to a different grouping for those Pokémon."

"What kind of grouping?" Pip asked.

Howl paused momentarily, and then pointed to the tree on the right-end side, "That tree shows the names of all who are here and accounted for in The Forest. Like Stick, Rustle and his mother, for example. They are all listed on that tree because we know where they are and know they are safe. This tree," he went on, moving towards the one with alternating dashes and crossings out, "shows the names of all the Pokémon who have been reported missing, so that we can search for them and bring them to safety. And lastly, this one…" he said conclusively, pointing to the farthest, and more noticeably different tree, "shows the names of all the Pokémon who… _**have**_ lived in The Forest, but who have since… passed away."

"Y-…You mean…?"

Howl nodded.

Silence passed between them.

"What about my mum and dad?" Pip asked eventually, "Are they in here somewhere too?"

Howl did not answer immediately; instead he made a thoughtful sound and stepped back from the tree bearing the names of missing Pokémon to see it more clearly. Pip moved in a little closer as well, though most of the names were too high up for him to read anyway. What he did notice, however, was how every now and then, between all the lone etchings and crossings-out were names encircled alongside others. He looked up at Howl, hoping to ask why that was, but his eyes were busily scanning the tree's trunk, so he held his tongue. Howl kept his silence for another minute or so, with one paw resting on his side whilst the other rubbed his chin. Then at last, he knelt down and jabbed at a point with his finger.

"Here."

Pip swallowed, and looked to where he was indicating. There were the names of his mother and father, etched alongside one another and isolated from the rest of the names by a large, wide circle drawn around them. And then Pip understood the meaning behind what those circles were for.

"You're there too, you know," Howl said quietly.

"Huh? Sorry?"

Howl edged a little to the side so that Pip could move in and see better, and there, sure enough, was his own name written within his family's circle.

"Why…?" Pip breathed, his throat feeling suddenly dry and sore, "Why am I there? Sir, why am I on this tree?"

"Because no-one knew where you were," he said simply.

Pip's mouth hung slightly open at these words. He felt he wanted to speak, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He closed his mouth and continued to stare, transfixed.

"I suppose we won't be needing that anymore though, hmm?" Howl continued matter-of-factly.

Pip blinked.

"What… What do you mean?" he asked.

As a response, Howl unsheathed a silver claw and brought it to Pip's family's circle.

"We - or rather, I - know where you are now. I know you haven't left The Forest, or anything like that. You are here, safe, and one of us. Part of the family. So there's no need to keep you on the list of missing Pokémon anymore."

He was burrowing his claw into the tree's bark. He was about to cross off Pip from the list.

"No!" Pip said suddenly, and more loudly than he had meant to, "Sir, wait! Wait!"

Howl paused and looked down at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Pip struggled to find his words. He started responses awkwardly only to end them again in midsentence.

"Please," he managed to say finally, "I-I'm not sure I - Please don't cross me off!"

"Why not?" Howl asked.

"I don't - Please - Please just don't, okay?!"

"I thought you'd decided to stay with us when you left your hiding place. Or was I mistaken?"

"N-No! I mean, yes!

I-I mean…!

Ohh, I don't know, I don't know!"

"Calm down," Howl said, finally tugging his paw free.

Pip closed his eyes and forced his breaths to be steady and level, and when he seemed to be more composed, Howl asked,

"What's making you worry so much? - And don't tell me 'you don't know'. Just answer me."

Pip was silent for a moment, thinking his answer through, then he responded,

"I… I feel like if you cross my name off, then I'll _**have**_ to stay here in The Forest.

…Or something."

"Isn't that what you want? Isn't that why you left your hiding place? I was under the impression you'd already made your mind up about this."

"I-I know! I-I thought so too! But now…"

"Pip, the reason I wanted you to stop hiding away was because I wanted you to stop being so miserable. That's what your mother wanted too. For you to be happy."

"But… how am I supposed to be happy?!" he burst out, his voice straining, "They're my mum and dad! And they're gone! How am I supposed to be happy without them?!"

"That's enough, Pip! Snap out of it!" Howl said, suddenly stern, "Believe it or not, the whole world is _**not**_ turned against _**you**_! Bad things happen to everyone. Bad things _**have**_ happened to everyone.

You'd know that if you took the time to ask the other Pokémon here."

"But… But, sir, I don't want t-"

"I'm not telling you to actually ask them. I'm saying that if you did, you wouldn't be questioning how you're supposed to be happy as if it were an impossible dream.

But, as for the answer to that question? How you are 'supposed' to be happy?

I can't give it to you. These are your reasons, your feelings, and your own answers. I can't tell you how to think. You're going to have to figure out how to be happy on your own."

Pip's ears and tail drooped, and he bowed his head.

"Then… Then I dunno what I should do," he said, "I just want them to come back… I just want to see them again… I don't think I'll ever be happy without them."

"You will," Howl said sincerely, "I know you will, Pip. I've been where you are, I know what you're feeling.

…There's an old saying, you know. A kind old lady in my hometown used to say it to us every time one of us so much as pouted. I admit, it's one of the most cringe-inducing lines I've ever heard in my life, but it also happens to be quite true…

It goes like this: 'Happiness is the one emotion that hides from us when we need it'.

…Like I said, cringe-y. But also true. Things are very hard for you these days. Which is why your natural response is to feel sad about those things. But it's for that reason that you have to be strong. Feeling depressed isn't going to do you any good. It's times just like this, when things are tough, that you need to be strong.

…Because otherwise, Pip, the hard times are never going to end."

Pip shifted a glance upwards, but could think of no response, so he remained silent.

That very silence made Howl seem to think Pip still did not believe him, and eventually he sighed and bowed his own head.

"Well…" he said, "maybe you're right. Maybe for some Pokémon, the loss is just too much. Maybe some really feel it would be easier for them to not even try to be happy again.

…But, little one, I can tell you one thing with certainty:

If I was faced with that choice; striving to find happiness or giving in to despair… I could never respect myself if I gave in to despair."

Pip raised his head a little to see Howl's face.

Howl and Pip were silent for a short while, then Howl finally said,

"All right then… I'll let you do it instead."

"Do what…? Sir?"

Howl indicated his name on The Family Tree beside them.

"I'll let you decide for yourself. Do you want to be one of us? Part of the family? Or do you want to be left alone?"

"What? Sir, you're not being serious, are you?"

"Yes, actually, I am. I'm not going to make up your mind for you on this one. Nor is anyone else. Not Mist, not your parents, no grown-ups here to tell you the right thing to do. This will be your choice, and no-one else's. And whatever it is that you decide, I will respect it as your decision."

And with that, Howl stood up to his full height and made his way towards the path, saying over his shoulder,

"I'll be waiting for you by the lake," as he went.

When he was sure he was alone, Pip looked back at The Family Tree, Howl's words playing through his mind again and again.

Pip closed his eyes and thought harder than he had ever thought in his life.

Finally, he looked around to make sure he was not being watched, and unsheathed a claw from his right paw.

It took him almost four whole tries, but eventually he unsheathed the entire set of his claws and dragged them across all at once until his name was nothing more than an untidy, indecipherable mess.

'I could never respect myself if I gave in to despair', he heard distantly. He nodded to himself, as though he were agreeing, and with one last look at The Family Tree, he followed Howl out and back towards the lake.

After an hour had passed, other Forest-dwellers began to emerge from the trees and seat themselves around or frolic within the waters - though by Howl's instruction kept their distance from him and Pip. From then on, the noise in the lake was at its usual level: Children laughed, voices were raised in indignation or exhilaration, and of course, the sound of water splattering was audible in every direction. At first, Pip had been unsettled by the knowledge of them being joined by others in the lake, but once Howl had explained, and once Pip had seen for himself that they would not be disturbed by them, he was just as comfortable as he had been before with the two of them. As they progressed, Pip was liable to some more minor blunders, but aside from a hasty apology, he made no further comments about them. Because of this, within the short hour, Pip's proficiency at keeping himself afloat was becoming better than Howl could have hoped for, and even when Pip faltered and nearly made himself sink, Howl barely even had time to react when Pip regained his balance and pushed himself determinedly forward. However, it was just that - making himself go forward - that was still not up to standard. At one point, it had been quite some time before Howl had realised Pip was almost at the exact same spot in the lake he had been in minutes ago.

"But there's no denying you've improved," Howl told him once they were seated on the bank for Pip to rest.

"I was still terrible, though," Pip replied in one breath before shivering copiously.

"How many times do I have to tell you you were not terrible?!" said Howl, a little impatience seeping through, "If you were, you would know by now. Trust me, I'd have made it perfectly clear."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing. Stop trying to belittle your own achievements."

"I'm not belittling anything, sir!"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes. You. Are.

You have so little self-confidence that you don't even want to believe you've improved. That's being what's called a 'defeatist'. I'm not going to waste my time teaching a defeatist, Pip, so you'd better hurry up and pull yourself out of this nose-dive."

"W-Well, OK, yeah," said Pip uncomfortably, "I guess I am better than I was before, but not by much. I mean, what does it matter I can float if I can't even go anywhe-"

"Oh pipe down!" Howl snapped, somewhat more angrily than he'd meant to.

"Sorry," he added when Pip looked surprised, "Just… stop talking so pitifully, will you? Have more respect for yourself."

There was a pause.

"Do you have any idea why you weren't moving forward, though?" Howl asked.

Pip was no clearer on the matter than him. They debated the problem for a while before finally coming to the realisation that if there was a direct cause, it must have been in how Pip was positioned or how he was angling his feet.

"I could have you swim and try to correct whatever it is whenever I see it…" Howl said thoughtfully, "but that would take time. Not to mention we'd increase the risk of you sinking if I was constantly diverting your attention.

So…"

Pip watched his mentor contemplate their solution, and finally he nodded and moved away, signalling for Pip to remain where he was, and when he returned he was carrying a small log.

"Oh no…" Pip groaned. He had seen logs being used to assist certain Pokémon move in water before, (those certain Pokémon mostly consisting of infants and those whose body-shape made it difficult to swim at all) and he knew exactly what Howl's plan was now.

"Do I have to use that, sir?"

"Unless you have a better idea, then yes, you do," Howl said, placing the log in the shallow water and pushing it down to check its buoyancy.

"But, sir, it's embarrassing…!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I had no idea. Will you survive the ordeal?"

"Yes…?"

"Then you're using the log."

Howl flicked his wrist, beckoning to him, and Pip groaned as he obeyed.

Howl held the log in place as Pip stepped into the shallow end, and once he was stood directly before it, he let go. The log bobbed up and down in place, and Pip felt his cheeks burn in spite of the lake's chill.

Howl's plan was for Pip to hold onto the log so that he could remain afloat, and whilst he did that, he would use his hind legs to move himself forwards so that Howl could see if he was doing anything wrong with his basic paddle. This idea worked very well once Pip got over the embarrassment (or seemed to), and every now and then Howl would get him to try and swim without the log, only for Pip to overbalance, accidently plummet his face underwater, and for Howl to immediately help him back on, each time to see him glancing about to check if anyone else had seen.

The lesson continued with consecutive breaks all through the afternoon, and all the while Pip was getting better and better, more familiar with the details and more accepting of his own progress.

At one point, when they'd had yet another unsuccessful attempt without the log, Pip had noticed that they were being watched from the shore.

"Over there…!" he whispered, tilting his head and pointing with his ear somewhere to the left. Howl looked, and saw on the shoreline that there was indeed a child watching them. And not just any particular child, but one they had both seen earlier that very day.

"Isn't that…?" Pip began uncertainly.

"Yes… that's Stick," Howl affirmed.

Stick was sitting at the very edge of the water, alone, and apparently not yet aware that she had been spotted. She didn't seem to have any special reason for watching them. She did not seem all that interested in what was going on. If anything, she looked merely at a loss as to what she should be doing.

Howl let go of the log and began to wade towards her, Pip paddling after him. Stick saw them coming and backed away, though not as if she were about to run for it, more as though she was nervous.

"Stop! Stay right where you are," Howl said before she could move any further.

Stick froze.

Howl knelt down before her and asked,

"What are you doing?"

"Mmm…" She made a small humming noise as a reply, but gave no words or expression.

"Why are you watching us?" Howl ventured, then, "…Is it Rustle all right?"

"He's fine," Stick said at once, "Rustle's fine. He's sleeping now, he's with his mum."

"I see."

Stick seemed to wish she hadn't spoken, for now that she had, she couldn't choose not to answer when Howl spoke to her.

"So why are you here now, then?"

"I dunno," she mumbled, "I'm bored. Nobody wants to play with me."

"Not even any of them?" Howl asked, gesturing behind him to the distant others who were still frolicking merrily in the lake.

"I don't know any of them," Stick replied, shaking her head. Then she caught sight of Pip beside him and said,

"Oh! It's, um… you. From before."

Howl looked from one to the other, and saw each wearing a familiar, but slightly awkward expression.

"I suppose I should introduce you two. Stick, this is Pip. Pip, Stick."

"Hi," said Stick reservedly.

"Hi," replied Pip in the same voice.

They looked at each other in mutual timidity before Stick finally went on,

"So, um… sir, would it be okay if I joined you guys? I mean, if you don't mind…"

"I'm afraid not. We aren't playing right now, we're…" Howl hesitated for only a split second, then said simply, "…in a lesson."

"Oh…" said Stick, sounding crestfallen, "Well… can I maybe-"

"Help? Watch? No, you cannot," Howl said, "I don't want Pip here getting distracted by anything."

"I won't get distracted!" Pip piped up suddenly, "Sir, she seems nice, and she said she doesn't have anyone else to play with. Let's let her swim with us, I don't mind!"

"It's not a matter of whether you mind or not, Pip; it's a matter of whether you'll be able to concentrate with her swimming around beside you," Howl said, turning to him. Both Stick and Pip responded to this at exactly the same moment,

"-I promise I'll concentrate!-"

"-I promise I won't distract him, sir!-"

Howl looked from one to the other resignedly. He did not want to have to include any unnecessary presences in a lesson that was strictly bound to Pip, the student, and him, the teacher. 'No,' he thought, 'Stick will just end up getting in the way or doing nothing at all.' It would be better to refuse her.

"Stick," he began, but then an idea came to him. Perhaps he _**could**_ find a use for her. Her body shape _**was**_ more-or-less the same as Pip's. And after all, if he told her she could not help them, and if she really did have nothing better to do, it was likely she would only continue to watch them from a distance. Not to mention, she had already endured enough hardship for one day, and while he hardly thought being turned down in an offer to help was going to be any additional hardship, perhaps it would be kinder for him to simply give her a distraction, something to take her mind off of her traumatised friend.

"…How are you at swimming, Stick?" he asked.

"U-Um, I… I'm OK, I guess."

"No, no 'guesses'. Can you swim or can't you?"

"Y-Yes, sir, I can swim."

"Show me."

His sudden change of heart combined with an equally sudden request that was almost like an order seemed to momentarily flummox Stick, but she obeyed him all the same, and once she was in the shallows, she began to push herself forwards.

Yes, he had been right! Stick's paddling technique was exactly the same as Pip's was!

"Good," he said as she swam back to shore.

He helped her up and then looked from her to Pip, who was sitting beside him, and then to Stick again.

"All right," he said, settling his decision, "Stick, you may help us in this lesson.

-But!" he added swiftly before either child could react, "That means you're going to have to take your role seriously. Let me make this clear for the two of you: this is not time for play. Pip, you are the student, Stick, you are the… assistant, and I am the teacher, thus putting me in charge of the both of you. You follow the commands I give you, when I give them to you, without question. But listen, I'm not telling you to be so serious about this that it becomes an unpleasant experience for the two of you. Relax. Enjoy yourselves, but if I tell you to stop doing something – such as, 'stop messing around', you stop immediately.

Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Understood, sir."

"Good. I'm trusting you two to be grown-up about this. Don't make me regret it." Howl stepped back into the shallow waters and told them both to follow suit, then he told Pip to swim with the log towards a designated area and for Stick to go with him.

"Now, Stick," he said once they were assembled, "I want you to swim the way you did before to Pip's left and right. Take it easy and don't rush it, and if you need to stop and rest, let us know immediately. Pip, watch the way she moves, watch how she angles her feet in particular, then when she stops, it'll be your turn to try. Keep an eye out for anything she might be doing differently to you."

And so the final hour of the afternoon passed on into the evening. Most of the Pokémon who had earlier been eager to enter the lake had left by now, though some lounged on the warm grass to dry, but the only Pokémon who retained enough vigour to remain in its waters were the three who had been pushing themselves since before the sun had even begun to set.

Subconsciously, Howl became aware of a dull ache in his stomach, but he was so focused on Pip and Stick that he didn't properly register it. What he did register was that both children were becoming slacker and less proficient by the minute.

"Come on, you two! Pick up the pace!" he barked, and in the instant that his lungs were empty, he felt a dull blow in his gut more intense than any of its recent discomfort.

"Ugh…" he growled, clutching his stomach. Then he felt it gurgle beneath his palm.

"Well… I suppose I did skip lunch."

He looked up unsteadily to see Pip and Stick still resolutely carrying out the orders he had given them, and even at a short distance he could see that they too were reaching their limits. He drew a deep breath and forced himself to move swiftly towards them, ignoring the ache in his stomach crying out in protest. He lifted Pip and Stick with one paw around the middle each and carried them back to land, saying to them as he did so, "I'm sorry. I completely lost track of time…"

As soon as he let them gently down, they slumped under their own weight and groaned weakly.

"How do you feel?" he asked, foretelling the answer.

"My stomach hurts…!" Pip moaned.

"I'm hungry-y-y…" Stick whimpered.

"I'm sorry," Howl said again, "I should have…" His voice gave out as his stomach gave another pang.

"Right…" he said, forcing himself to stand upright, "I'll go and see if I can get us some food."

Both Pip and Stick moaned as he spoke.

Not waiting for a response, he gathered his remaining energy and forced himself to sprint away.

At last, at long last, Howl slowed to a walk as he reached the spot where fruit, berries, mushrooms - food of all sorts from all over The Forest was gathered and prepared before mealtimes.

He stopped for a moment and tried to steady his breaths before looking around for a familiar face.

"Howl!" came a voice from somewhere to the right. He turned towards it to see Knoll - Mist's younger sister - running joyously towards him, her arms out wide.

"Hello, Knoll, good to see- Oof! …Thanks for the hug."

"I haven't seen you all day today, _**or**_ all day yesterday!" she said, withdrawing her face from his stomach and looking reproachfully up at him,

"Where've you been?"

"I've been busy."

"You're _**always**_ busy!"

"Yes, well-"

"You said you were going to spar with me days ago!"

"I… I did?" Howl asked hesitantly. He couldn't remember promising any such thing, though he wouldn't be surprised if he had done.

"Yes, _**you did**_!" Knoll insisted, "I've been training and training, just like you told me to, but I don't know if I've gotten any stronger! When're we going to spar?!"

"All right, all right, calm down. I keep my promises, we will spar someday soon. But you must understand, Knoll, I didn't give you any specific time for it because I knew that something would come up - and so it did. But when I have an afternoon without any errands or lessons, I promise we will spar then. Just be patient."

He gently unwrapped her arms around him and she nodded glumly.

"Ohkaay…"

Howl nodded too, and realised as he did that there was something different about the her.

"Have you grown even more?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have!" she replied, "I was wondering if you'd notice!"

"I can hardly believe how much you've grown over the last year alone. It won't be long before you evolve now, Knoll, and when you do, you'll plunge the whole forest into confusion as to who the Gardevoir we've known all this time truly is."

"Yeah," she said, sniggering,

"I am gonna have _**sooo**_ much fun with that!"

"You most certainly will NOT!" came a voice from close by.

Howl looked, and saw that Mist was sitting at the space where the food was taken out of one pile, rinsed in water, and then placed in the pile of clean food.

"Wha…" he began. He looked down at Knoll and then back to Mist before finally collecting himself and approaching her.

"What are you doing here? You're not on mess duty tonight," he said.

"I know," she replied, without looking at him, "But Ebony said that she's not feeling well and, 'doesn't want to contaminate the food'. So that left me as the only one simple enough to volunteer to do it in her place."

"Simple isn't the word I'd use. How long have you been here?"

"Oh…" She gave a small huff, "All morning, maybe? …Probably. How's the lesson been going?"

"It's been alright. Pip wasn't feeling confident at all when we started, but once he saw for himself that he was capable of doing it, we started making progress much more smoothly. He still hasn't quite got the hang of it, but he's getting there."

Howl leaned forwards and picked a bunch of berries by the stalk out of the pile of clean food.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't pick at it!" Mist said in outrage.

"But I'm hungry."

"Yeah, well, you're the one who made the rule about the whole mealtimes thing, you can't just go and break it!"

He sighed and looked longingly at the bunch of berries before moving to replace them, but-

"No, no, no! Don't put them back!" Mist cried indignantly, "You've touched them! They're not clean anymore!"

"So… I can't eat them… and I can't put them back. What do you want me to do with them exactly?"

Mist made a scornful sound before snatching the berries out of his grasp and rinsing them in the bucket again, muttering under her breath.

"Howl?" she said eventually, "Who _**is**_ that boy?"

"You mean Pip?"

"Yes, Pip. You talk about him like you already know him, but I've never seen him before. He's not a new arrival, is he?"

Howl considered his answer for a moment, then took a deep breath, and told her everything he knew about the little Eevee. Everything right from the journey he had made searching for The Forest with his family to how Howl had finally tracked him down and convinced him to re-join the rest of them, leaving out only what concerned him and Pip alone.

"So where is he now?" Mist asked when he had finished, "Has the lesson been concluded yet?"

"No, of course not."

"Oh, why not, Howl? He must be exhausted by now!"

"It's not the exhaustion that's ailing him, it's the hunger. He's a good kid, he can cope through being tired."

"Wait, what?!" she exclaimed, turning sharply to face him, "What did you say? He's not feeling well?"

"He's very hungry. He's starting to feel weak and limp. But, I suppose - as you say - I can't decide to suddenly break my own rules. He'll just have to endure it until dinner is ready."

"But…!" Mist began as he stood up and made to walk away.

"You cold-hearted, spiteful…! Why didn't you say anything sooner?!" She snatched a couple of fruits from the clean pile and thrust them into his arms.

"Go!" she said, pushing him away, "Go! Food! Take it and go! Go now!"

He staggered as she shoved him even more insistently, and hurried out of her reach and back the way he'd come without another glance in her direction.

Once he was out of earshot he smirked to himself.

"Well, that was easy."

His stomach rumbled at that moment, and he broke into a run, not wanting to keep Pip and Stick waiting any longer.

The setting sun was almost completely obscured by the trees, the sky above was strewn with dark-grey clouds, and there was a light breath of wind in the air. The weather was showing all the signs of it being another rough night. Nevertheless, Howl could not help but feel impressed by the effect that all these combining elements gave the lake, the great tree in its centre, and all the greenery within reach. The waters were tinted a delicate shade of gold to match the setting sun, and even the clouds looked impressive in the water's reflection; drifting eerily across like large puffs of smoke straight from beacon-fire.

He saw Pip and Stick where he had left them and set course towards them, and as their forms grew clearer, he noticed some things looked different from when he had left. Firstly, Pip and Stick were not in the exact same space they had been, and they were both on their feet, panting heavily and trembling. As he picked up their gasps more clearly, he thought he heard a small note of merriment in their voices.

Was that the log he could see behind them? But it had been left in the water when he had carried them to shore… hadn't it?

Stick heard his footsteps and looked up.

"Sir!" she cried, a beam spreading across her face.

"Sir!" Pip echoed, his expression identical and full of excitement as they both hurried to greet him.

"What? What is it?" said Howl, bewildered by the way they were both gaping up at him and struggling to find their voices.

"H-H-He…!" Stick stammered desperately, looking towards Pip.

"I-I…!" Pip began, before they both cried in unison,

"-I did it!-"

"-He did it!-"

and laughed together as though every trace of fatigue had not ever existed.

"Wh… What do you…?" Howl began, and then he saw how drenched their fur was.

"I did it!" Pip cried again, "I swam, sir! I swam _**without**_ the log!"

Howl felt a little leap in his chest.

"You did? Seriously?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Pip replied, unable to keep his voice quiet, unable to hold back his pure delight.

Stick had recovered her breath and said,

"We thought we should do something to keep our minds off how hungry we were, you know? And even though we didn't, like, decide to get back in the lake, we both just went in and kind of swam around slowly.

And Pip fell off the log-"

"-No I didn't!" Pip cut in, but not angrily.

"OK, OK, Pip _**let go**_ of the log," Stick continued, "and was trying to get back on. I tried to help him, but I couldn't go very fast, and he was trying to get hold of the log, but it kept on moving away as he got close!"

"So then," Pip took over, "I just held my breath and tried to totally focus on floating and kind of moving _**a little bit**_ towards it at a time, and I didn't even know I was actually swimming until Stick said so!"

"You swam?" Howl repeated hesitantly, "Without the log?"

"Yeah!" said Pip, looking happier than Howl had ever seen him.

"Here, I'll show you!" he added, running towards the lake's bank. Stick followed him, but before they could go any further, Howl called,

"No, wait! Before you show me anything, you two, eat these."

The pair of them looked impatiently at the fruits, and began to protest imploringly, but Howl said, with a familiar steely-edge to his tone,

"No, absolutely not. You're both running on fumes and look like you could pass out at any minute. Eat before you push yourselves any further and show me then. That's an order."

Pip and Stick both moaned and reluctantly came back as he set the fruits down on the ground.

They ate quickly, hardly taking time to chew before forcing entire mouthfuls down and hurrying onto the next. Howl wanted to tell them to slow down and eat properly, but he could see how eager they were to show him, and by that point there was hardly any food left for them to eat conservatively.

When they were finished, he wearily gave them permission, and they hurried to the water's edge, barely able to contain their excitement. Howl sat down at the bank and watched as Pip rested his front paws on the log, as per usual, and paddled further into deep waters with Stick leading the way. Finally they stopped and headed in separate directions, Stick heading to the right and Pip to the left until they were meters apart. Then they stopped and turned to face one-another.

Howl saw Pip glance in his direction and he raised a paw in response.

Finally Pip slipped clumsily into the water and remained floating in place. Both Stick and Howl kept silent and waited.

The log began to drift slowly away from Pip, who still did not move.

"C'mon!" Stick's voice called in the distance.

"OK!" said Pip's in response, but in spite of it, Pip himself remained floating for ever more, even as Stick continued to urge him forwards.

"Go!" Howl called finally, "Don't hesitate! Just go for it!"

There came a little exclamation of surprise from Pip which reached even the shore, and finally, with many loud splashes and spits proceeding it, Pip's outline began to move. Stick gave a cheer, and Howl felt his heartbeat begin to quicken.

Pip drew almost level with Stick, who continued to cheer him on, but Howl called out, "Now see if you can make it back to shore! Swim back here!"

Pip slowed for a moment, managed to turn towards the shallow end, and then proceeded to do as instructed.

Slowly and steadily Pip and Stick's outlines drew nearer. Stick's eyes were on the back of Pip's head whilst Pip was holding his face up and out of the water's reach, his eyes looking down his nose as Howl offered them his paws. Stick let her feet rest on the underwater earth as she accepted Howl's assistance, but Pip drew his closer to his body, determined to swim every second he could before finally being pulled onto land.

"Well done, Pip!" said Howl fervently as Pip rolled onto his side and breathed as though he had just run across an entire plain without a moment's rest.

"You did it!" Stick cried joyously.

Suddenly there came more cheers, more congratulations, and as Howl looked up, he saw that those who had been lounging across from them had also been spectating the experience, and they too were applauding Pip for his success.

"Well done, Pip," Howl said again, "Very well done. You didn't give up, you didn't whine at me for making you carry on, and you saw it through right to the end. I imagine we'll make a professional swimmer out of you yet."

Pip did not have any strength left to respond, but he looked up heavily and managed to shape his expression into a smile.

"And you," Howl went on to Stick, "You have my thanks, Stick. Even though you say you had nothing else to do, it was still very kind of you to help us. And without your help we'd have probably been here for a lot longer."

"Oh, it's okay… I really didn't do anything helpful," Stick replied.

"Oh, I disagree. You giving Pip a visual example of what he should be doing was very helpful. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Don't you agree, Pip?"

Pip managed to raise his head off the ground a second time and nod forcefully before letting it gently down again.

There came a call from the end of the lake towards the eating area, and it was from a voice they all recognised. With cheers of elation, the group of loungers made their ways towards it with sudden energy and enthusiasm, and Howl helped Pip to his feet.

"Come on, you two," he said, "Let's go and get dinner."

* * *

 _Wow, this one took a while for me to write - a month and a half, maybe?.It probably felt like just as long for you to read, eh? Let me know your thoughts in a review - both positives and negatives are welcome. I don't think I'll be making future chapters this long, unless people specifically want me to? Thanks a lot for reading - the next chapter is already a work in progress, should be finished soon. See you then!_


	9. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight:**_

 _ **The Guardian's Mercy**_

Members of the crowd clapped their palms together in rhythm as the Troupe presented their evening dance in the middle of the eating area. It had never been much of a 'show'. In fact, the group was really quite small, consisting only of four dancing Bellosom, two singing Bird-Pokémon, and a Medicham and Ludicolo as the two main performers. But the amount of performers felt irrelevant to all, even the most sombre of forest-dwellers, when their talent was seen first-hand.

The singers hit every last note of their tunes with absolute precision, the Bellosom seemed to move as one as they swayed their arms to left and right, twirled around and around in one giant circle, and the Medicham and Ludicolo swerved back and forth, to and fro with mesmerising movements, somehow always ending up on opposite sides of the towering fire between them.

The Bellosom suddenly turned to face the fire, holding their arms up as though bestowing an offering to it, the Medicham and Ludicolo spun round once more and made identical motions with their arms, and the singing Bird-Pokémon's notes were giving all the subtle indications of a conclusion to their song, which they finally hit with a synchronised combination of one chirping a somewhat higher note whilst the other tweeted one that was deeper, and then the Bellosom, Bird-Pokémon and main performers turned all at once away from the blazing fire, and bowed.

The forest-dwellers all around broke into applause. Some even stood up and cheered compliments, praising the performers for their greatness. The fire suddenly reared up high, and what looked like a ball of flame went soaring out of the top towards the night sky. Some of the observers backed away in horror, and there were even cries of alarm, but the Medicham and Ludicolo drew together and held their arms out, and before there was even time to wonder, the flaming sphere began to descend and uncurl itself before landing directly into the main performers hands. A little figure stood up, briefly shook soot out of its fur, and the final performer, a young Torchic, took a bow.

The crowd broke into a second round of applause, one that was twice as rowdy and flattering as before, and the fire that the Torchic had been controlling gave a loud hiss and began to shrink, smaller and smaller, until it faded away into embers atop a pile of ashes.

In the midst of the many enthusiastic members of the crowd, Pip was among the last to stop cheering, even as the performers made their ways towards the exit where they were entitled to rest and eat in peace and solitude.

"That was so cool!" said Pip, turning away at last and beaming.

"You're lucky," Howl replied, "They only do this a few times in the year, and apparently each dance is supposed to represent the changing of the seasons. Don't ask me how."

He smiled and took a couple of fruits from the pile and rolled them across to Pip, which he accepted happily before turning to discuss the performance with Stick beside him.

Their gathering was surprisingly large that evening. Howl and Mist nearly always ate together, and every now and then they were happy to have others join them, so they had naturally been expecting Pip to sit with them; what they had not been expecting was for Stick to suddenly appear from where she usually sat with her own friends and ask if she could join them too. That alone had been a pleasant surprise, and of course, she had been welcomed, but shortly afterwards they were joined by both of Stick's parents; Knoll; and the most unexpected of all: Furret and her son, Rustle.

The instant they had appeared, Howl and Mist had leapt to their feet, trying not to alarm the two of them whilst greeting them with caution. They were told Rustle had been asleep for most of the afternoon, and although Furret had never left his side, he had apparently been speechless all the time he'd been awake. Howl and Mist soon saw for themselves as they made room in their gathering just how Rustle was coping. As soon as his mother had set him down beside her, he curled up, tucked his tail around his belly, and sat completely still without looking at anyone. Eventually, when time had passed and there had been no change to his state, Mist had looked over their present company and whispered a thought into Howl's ear. He'd agreed and passed the message on over to Stick via telepathy. Stick, for her part, had done well at concealing her alarm at suddenly hearing Howl speak to her in her own head, and once she understood what to do, she took her time talking with Pip and moved discreetly over to sit beside Rustle. Then she had shifted a glance at Howl when Rustle had not responded to her, and when Howl gave her an encouraging nod, she finally moved in close, nudged her head under his arm, and pressed herself as close to him as she could.

"Rustle…" she had said in a trembling voice, "I'm so glad you're alright…" And a little stream of tears had flowed down her cheek.

Mist's idea had worked; Rustle had been so thrown by this that he'd immediately come to his senses and hugged her back, desperately assuring her that he was not feeling any more pain and that she didn't have to worry about him anymore, and after a minute of the two of them embracing and simultaneously comforting each other, the group had seen fit to shuffle around once again so that all three children could sit together.

That evening, Howl felt more truly relaxed than he had done in a long time. He was completely content to let all of his worries and responsibilities drift away to the back of his mind and simply talk to Mist about how the lesson had gone, or listen to Knoll explain some of her newest training techniques, or tell Stick's parents and Rustle's mother some of the more amusing stories that had taken place in The Forest.

He was just in the middle of helping himself to more food when he felt a prod at his back.

"Sir…?" came a low whisper from behind him,

" _ **Siirr**_ …?"

He looked round. There, looking up at him with an expression of great trepidation was one of the very Pokémon who was responsible for Rustle's trauma, and the very one who had been the most terrified of Howl's anger.

"…You," Howl said quietly.

Treecko gulped and glanced about.

"Can I… Can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked apprehensively.

Howl was briefly silent, then he answered,

"No," -and turned away.

Treecko didn't seem to have been expecting such a response, for Howl heard him stammer at the point of speech before persisting,

"P-Please, sir? It won't take long."

"I don't care. Now go before you start to annoy me."

"S-S-Sir, please! It's important! I've got something I want to say!"

"Well, what a coincidence. I have some things I'd very much like to say too."

"I want to apol-" Treecko began, accidently raising his voice ever so slightly. Howl looked back to see his eyes darting to left and right, checking if anyone in the group had heard.

"I want to talk about what happened today…!" he said at last, returning to his previous tone, "Please, sir…! _**Please**_ …!"

Howl glared warningly and put a finger to his lip. Treecko shut his mouth at once and put a finger to his own lip, looking as though he were about to faint on the spot. Howl looked away and swept his eyes over the gathering. Pip, Stick and Rustle were still talking about the evening dance, debating who their favourite performers had been, Mist was talking to Knoll about how she could be more helpful in The Forest instead of training all day, only to receive much dispute, and Stick's parents were talking with Rustle's mother.

He sighed and looked back.

"You go ahead," he answered finally, "I'll follow your lead in one minute, starting now. Go."

Treecko nodded feverishly and hurried away towards one of the many exits. Howl watched until he was sure of where he had gone, then turned back and took the food he had originally set his sights on from the pile and took his time chewing and forcing it down. Then at last, he stood up and excused himself from the others before heading after Treecko.

He found the young Pokémon lurking on a tree branch illuminated by both the full moon above and its reflection in a small nearby pond, and he was walking back and forth across it, making it wobble and creak dangerously, mumbling and fidgeting as he did so. Then he saw Howl approaching and gave a start.

"Sir! Th-Thanks for coming, really, thanks," he said.

Cold silence was Howl's reply. Without taking his eyes off him, Howl moved over to the opposite tree, leaned back against it and folded his arms.

"Well?" he said, "What do you want?"

Treecko swallowed, blinked rapidly, and Howl could see his whole body starting to tremble.

"OK… OK, um… sir? I-I want to apologise. I-I'm sorry.

…Not just for today. Y'know, but for… everything. Everything before. I'm sorry."

Howl gave no response or even the slightest change in body language but for a single slow blink.

" _ **You**_ want to _**apologise**_ ," he repeated, "…Very funny."

"I-I'm n-not joking, sir…" Treecko stammered, averting his eyes.

"I know. That's what makes it so amusing.

…You sure took your time, didn't you. You should have apologised months ago when I gave you my second - and final warning. You should have realised that _**I**_ wasn't joking when I told you I didn't want to have to punish any of you, but that if you drove me to it, I would not hesitate."

"Yes, sir, you're right, yes, I should've-"

"And now that you've suffered the consequences, you've realised your mistakes, and want to get back on my good side before I catch you in the act again."

"No, sir! No, that's not it! I… I really am sorry!"

"I don't believe you."

Treecko started to reply, but made a sound as though something had caught in his throat and broke off uncomfortably.

Howl's eyes were boring into him, and even in the little light they were given, it was clear that the fiery glow within them was beginning to heat up, which was always a sign of danger.

"Why…" said Treecko at last, "…Why not? Why don't you believe me?"

"Why should I? All you ever do is lie. You hardly ever tell me the truth."

"Y-Yes, and I'm sorry about that too. But I really am telling the truth this time, I swear."

"Your word means _**nothing**_."

Treecko took an unintentional step backwards and wobbled dangerously when the branch shifted beneath him, but he regained his balance and looked up to see Howl just gazing indifferently at him from the exact same position as before.

"S-Sir, are you…" he began, giving a wary glance up to Howl's face,

"A-Are you… still angry with me? Cuz you… you seem-"

Crimson fury erupted within Howl's eyes and he advanced forwards, seized hold of the end of the branch and wrenched it down so that Treecko fell onto his back and was forced to look directly at him.

"OF COURSE I'M STILL ANGRY!" he roared telepathically, the words resounding like an explosion in Treecko's mind.

"I gave your little gang chances for forgiveness more than enough times," he growled, returning to regular low speech, "I put my trust in all of you, and you threw it aside like it was worthless trash. You made me feel like a fool for wanting to believe there was some good in you." And he let go of the branch and stepped away, still glaring ferociously.

Treecko began to tremble more violently than ever, and without looking at Howl, he climbed unsteadily to his feet and jumped down from the branch he was perched on. He shifted one final glance in his direction, and began to walk.

"And where do you think you're going…?"

Treecko halted.

"I… You…

Y-You're still angry, so you don't forgive me, right? So I… well, I should go."

"I don't recall dismissing you. You brought me here, you've said your part, now I'm going to say mine. Turn around and get back here."

Treecko clenched his fists, and Howl heard faint, fearful sounds escape his throat. He looked as though he was struggling to prevent himself from running away at full speed.

"Treecko…?" Howl growled.

"Y-Yes, sir!" Treecko , turning and scurrying back up the tree and onto the branch.

Howl stepped back and folded his arms against the opposite tree once more, and waited for his company to settle himself.

"I notice you aren't with your companions at the moment," Howl said after a full minute of stoic silence,

"Where are Patrat and Purrloin? Are they going to come crawling back to me tonight too, with tears in their eyes, and express their own apologies?"

Treecko shook his head, his eyes fixed on the end of the branch.

"It's considered a common courtesy to look at someone when you answer them, boy."

Treecko shut his eyes tight, shivered on the spot, and finally obeyed.

"Now answer me properly.

…Where are Patrat and Purrloin?"

Treecko breathed in deeply.

"I don't know.

…R-Really, sir, _**really**_! I haven't seen 'em all day since… since we were playing Bull's-eye."

"So… you're here on your own? They have no idea what you're doing?"

"Yes, sir."

There was a pause.

"You have some nerve," Howl said at last, "Tell me… why do you hang around Pokémon like them? Out of all three of you, you were the only one who showed the tiniest shred of guilt when I caught you. And now here you are, apologising, when they're nowhere to be found."

"…They're my friends…" Treecko mumbled.

"Are they now? Good friends? How often do you meet up? Whenever you three discuss what you want to do, do they ever listen to your ideas?"

"Nuh-…No… B-But, when we do hang out together, we do really fun stuff."

"Like Bull's-eye?"

"N-No! We… We play pranks, and… and…"

"Go on," Howl said in a patient tone that deliberately intensified Treecko's pressure to answer, "What else do you do? You play pranks, and…?"

It was an entire minute before Treecko finally spoke up again.

"We… climb trees sometimes."

"And?"

"We… swim in the lake."

"And?"

"W-We have mud-fights. We play in the mud."

"Anything else?"

Treecko shook his head.

"No? Nothing else at all?"

"N-No, sir."

" _ **Lies**_ ," Howl rumbled, "…Nothing but lies. There've been children running to me and Mist all year, covered in bruises and complaining that a certain group was ganging up on them.

The only times I ever see you climbing trees is when they either belong to someone else, or are particularly dangerous.

And I have never - in all the time that the three of you have been here - seen a single one of you swimming in the lake."

For the first time ever since Howl had met him, Treecko's eyes were beginning to glisten.

"S-Sir…! I'M SORRY!" he cried out, all poise and restraint gone and forgotten, his voice shaking so much that his words were barely understandable.

"S-S-Sir...! Please...! I-I know I don't deserve it, but please believe me, I'm begging you! I d-don't want to be that kind of Pokémon anymore! It never felt right, never!"

"Then why did you do it?!" Howl demanded, raising his own voice over Treecko's, "We have _**all**_ suffered, Treecko! Every last one of us has been through more than we deserve! In here, it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, or what you were raised to believe! NOBODY is victimised in this forest! NOBODY!"

Treecko looked as though he were years younger. His lips trembled, his eyes brimmed, and he couldn't seem to speak without sniffling.

"I-I Kn-Know…!" he stammered, "S-Sir…! I never wanted to be a bully…! I dunno why I did it, I really don't! Please, sir, you've got to believe me! I'll stop being a bully – I'll change - I'll do whatever it takes!"

Howl closed his eyes and rested his head back against the tree he leaned on.

This was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, not a trick.

He had never seen Treecko like this before.

But he had to be sure it was genuine guilt he expressed and not merely because of what had happened earlier that day. And there was one way he could be sure of that.

"P-Please, sir…!" said Treecko.

Without opening his eyes, Howl held up a paw and said, "Be silent," before taking a deep breath and enabling his Aura Senses.

Treecko's Aura, directly before him, was a dark teal-blue tint with a hazy, murky quality. Howl allowed his mind to flow into a calm, observant state and watched the ripples pass through with every beat of Treecko's heart. It was not an easy thing for him to decipher, as Treecko's pulse was speeding so quickly it was hard for him to see the shape of the waves clearly. But as he patiently studied one after the other as they passed, he was sure of one thing; their shapes were curved inwards so much it was beyond a 'typical' sadness, and the colour of Treecko's Aura had changed quite dramatically; earlier that day it had been of a darker, more bitter teal-blue, and now it was considerably stronger, with hardly a trace of dullness inside of it. These two things could only mean that he really did feel remorseful for what he had done, and that if his Aura was already becoming less tainted, he was truly ready to change. He _**wanted**_ to change.

"Treecko…" Howl said at last, opening his eyes, "…I believe you."

"Ruh-…Really…?" said Treecko, wiping his eyes.

Howl nodded.

"But I can't forgive you just like that," he continued, "Regardless of whether you feel truly guilty or not, you need to show a little more sincerity than with just one apology."

"B-But…!" Treecko began, however, Howl's expression silenced him.

"If you want to become a better Pokémon, Treecko, if you truly want that, then I'll tell you what you should do.

Firstly: you are going to cut your ties with Patrat and Purrloin - without question! Tell them that you don't like what they do, and that you don't like doing it with them, and that unless they stop being cruel to others, you won't be their friend anymore."

Treecko gulped.

"Okay," he breathed.

"Secondly," Howl went on, "you are going to start helping with errands in this forest, just like everyone else your age. Your chores will involve gathering food, assisting in care for the sick and wounded, conserving plant-life, and so on."

"Y-Yes, sir."

"And lastly: you're going to apologise to everyone you have ever bullied. Plain and simple. During mealtimes, you will seek out those you've wronged and ask for a moment of their time, exactly as you've done with me, here and now. This is something you will do alone, and Mist and I will be watching you to make sure you do it."

"But… what if they don't forgive me, sir?"

"If they don't forgive you, you tell them you understand and that they don't have to. Not everyone will be willing to forgive and forget, Treecko, so bear that in mind.

…And what you will do that might _ **just**_ earn you _**my**_ forgiveness is apologise to your last victim."

Treecko blinked.

"You… mean Sentret?" he asked.

"He and his mother are with me tonight," Howl answered, "You can apologise to him right away.

Come."

Treecko hesitated on the branch, but recognised an order and followed suit.

Nobody seemed to have moved in the slightest since Howl had left. All three children and every last adult was sitting in the exact same place and talking with the exact same Pokémon as they had been beforehand.

Howl looked around, and approached first Furret and then Rustle and asked them both to come with him for a moment. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep this hidden from everyone else; even Mist and Knoll, who were deep in their own conversation, couldn't fail to notice him extracting two from within their midst.

Howl had barely led them the mere paces away towards Treecko when Rustle realised who it was and held back.

"Rustle?" said his mother, "Rustle? What's the matter?"

"Come on," Howl said, motioning to him, "It's all right. Come on."

Slowly, silently and apprehensively, Rustle approached.

"Who…?" Furret began hesitantly, looking towards Treecko.

"You'll see," Howl said, moving away from the two of them and standing at her side.

Treecko took a tentative step forwards.

"Um… Sentre-

I-I mean, uh… R-Rustle? I… I want to say I'm sorry for… what I did today.

…I know It's probably way too late, and I bet you're still really angry, but… I'm sorry. I didn't want to do what we were doing. I'm not friends with Patrat and Purrloin anymore. They were being - no, no, I mean, _**I**_ was being - w- _ **we**_ were being really… really mean to you. And if you don't want to forgive me, that's OK, I understand, but… I just want you to believe me when I say I really am sorry."

Rustle's eyes fell gradually to the ground, and neither of them said another word.

"He…" said Furret suddenly, her eyes on Treecko, "Is he one of-"

Howl gently motioned for silence with his paw, saw Treecko looking helplessly up at him as he did so, and motioned with the same paw for him to remain silent too. All eyes turned towards Rustle once again, who had still not said anything.

"Well, Rustle?" Howl asked finally, deciding it was time to act, "What do you say to that?"

Rustle's eyes darted all around. He shifted them from one Pokémon to the other, to Howl, to his mother, and finally to Treecko, then he closed them tight, pressed his lips together and answered with one barely audible word.

"Okay."

At once, the heavy tension that had been pressing down on the four of them seemed to lift. Rustle opened his eyes and said again,

"OK. I forgive you."

Treecko sounded as though he had only just managed to repress a sigh of relief.

"Th-Thanks," he said, and looked up at Howl to see a satisfied expression and receive an approving nod.

"And," Howl added, nodding his head pointedly to the Pokémon next to him.

Treecko swallowed and said,

"Yeah… I'm really sorry for what I did to Rustle. I won't do it again. To anyone."

Howl looked to Furret as well. She did not appear to be quite as ready to forgive as her son had been, but the fact that he had already forgiven Treecko seemed to have swayed her. If anything, she looked as though she was struggling to decide whether to forgive him or shout at him.

"Madam," said Howl, "you have every right to be angry, but if Rustle is able to forgive his bully, don't you think you could do the same?"

Furret looked down at her son and stammered,

"W-Well… I-I…" then she shook her head irritably, "Ohh… all right. Yes, I suppose…"

She turned her gaze to Treecko and continued, "I'll forgive you this time, but only because Rustle does too. If you ever hurt him like that again, I'll _**never**_ forgive you no matter how much you say you're sorry."

"OK," Treecko replied humbly.

Furret gave Howl a troubled look and turned back towards their gathering.

"Come on, honey," she said as she passed by her son. Rustle glanced one more time at Treecko before following after his mother.

"Nicely done," Howl said, smiling down at Treecko.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

There was a slightly awkward silence.

"Well… I should probably…" Treecko said at last, gesturing behind him and backing hesitantly away.

"Treecko," Howl said, the moment he had turned his back.

"Y-Yes, sir?" he replied, turning.

Howl smiled at the worrisome look on his face and held his arm out towards their gathering.

"If you don't have anyone else to be with, why don't you join us?"

Treecko looked as though Howl had just told him to give a speech to the whole clearing.

"Umm… I…" he began, looking uneasily at the gathering, "I dunno, sir, I… don't really think I should…"

"Why not? You've apologised and been forgiven, so there's no need to feel guilty anymore."

"Y-Yeah, but it'll still be a bit… weird."

"Five minutes, then," Howl persisted, "Not for the whole evening if you don't want to, but for five minutes, at least."

"Uh… is that an order, sir?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

Treecko's mouth thinned.

"…Just five minutes, yeah?" he queried. Howl nodded.

"Okay…" Treecko obliged at last, "Okay, just… five minutes."

Howl smiled and walked with him to where he had originally been sitting, asking for more space as Treecko joined them at his side.

The pile of food in the middle of their circle had grown considerably smaller by then, but Howl managed to scrounge some of his favourite foods along with some for Treecko as well.

Treecko did not end up staying for merely five minutes in the end, but for almost the whole evening, talking first with Howl, discussing how and where to find the foods Treecko had tried then for his very first time, then to Knoll, who had suddenly joined their conversation by asking Howl just why he remembered such un-important details about food of all things, and soon enough half of their gathering was deep in conversation, and although Treecko was not in the middle of it and mostly being relatively quiet, Howl was still pleased to see him more relaxed for once.

As time drew on, Howl began to see Pokémon standing up and leaving along with their families, no doubt turning in for the night, as the fires that had been lit to illuminate the eating area in the darkness were starting to give out at long last.

Among their personal gathering, Treecko was the first to stand up and leave, which was what Howl had been expecting, frankly.

"Goodnight then," he said, raising his paw.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Howl, sir," he replied, "Thanks for, uh…" he gestured to the rest of their gathering, "Yeah… thanks."

"You're welcome," Howl replied, then before he could move, added,

"Treecko. What's your name?"

"Um," he stammered, "I-I just like being called Treecko, sir, if that's okay…"

"I don't think so, kid. Tell me."

Treecko hesitated.

"My… My dad wanted to name me Spike," he mumbled, "Said it's cuz he thought I was tough…"

Howl nodded, his expression content.

"Spike.

See you later."

Spike nodded and headed away into one of the darkened pathways until he was almost impossible to make out.

Howl turned back to Stick's parents, intending to continue their conversation, but saw to his surprise that Stick herself was curled up asleep right beside them. Soon after he'd noticed this, then they decided it was time for them to be heading to bed too, and managed to carefully sling Stick onto her father's back before walking away into the dark as well. Ten minutes later, they were followed by Furret, holding Rustle's sleeping figure close to her chest, and even Knoll was showing signs of drowsiness.

"No," said Mist at once when Knoll gave her sister her signature doting eyes and reached up to her with both arms exactly like a child requesting to be carried.

"Aw, c'mon, sis, pweease?" said Knoll, adding extra cutesiness to her voice.

"No," Mist repeated flatly, "If you're feeling tired, you can carry yourself to bed."

"But you used to carry me all the time…!"

"That was when you were little. You are not little now, so my answer is - and always shall be from now on: _**no**_."

"You're the worst, Mist!" Knoll pouted, dropping the act.

"No, no, no, no, no. I think you'll find that _**Howl**_ is the worst, not me."

"Why, thank you. No offense taken," said Howl himself from across what had once been a great pile of food between them.

Mist yawned and stood up.

"Well…" she said, "I think I'll be heading off too. It's too late to be staying up anyway."

She looked somewhere to the side of their gathering, and then smiled at him.

"What?" he asked.

She put a finger to her lip and nodded towards what she had seen, and he followed her gaze.

"Pip…" he said wearily. Pip had curled up on the spot, tucked his tail around his nose, and fallen asleep just as Stick and Rustle had done.

The only difference was that he was without his loving family. He had no-one to curl up beside. Howl couldn't say he understood that feeling. He couldn't miss what he'd never had to begin with. Pushing these thoughts aside, he crept over towards Pip's sleeping figure and prodded him on the shoulder.

" _ **No**_ …!" Mist whispered, "Don't wake him up…!"

"But-"

"Shh!"

Pip gave a quiet little groan and shifted onto his side.

"What am I supposed to do, then?" Howl whispered back. Mist looked at him with weary scorn and made a series of gestures that made it perfectly clear what she had in mind.

"No!" Howl said in disbelief, "Mist, I… I can't. You do it."

"No, _**I**_ can't do it. He knows you more than me, and he trusts you. If he had to choose, I'm sure he'd choose you."

"If he had to choose, he'd choose neither of us and do what you told Knoll to do, which is why we should wake him up."

"Don't you dare…!" said Mist, "Don't you dare, Howl…! If you wake that boy deliberately, I will smack you so hard your muzzle will never look the same…!"

Howl looked back down at Pip and then back to Mist desperately, but she shook her head.

"Sorry, _**sir**_ , but this is all you," she said.

Howl narrowed his eyes at her before carefully slipping his paws beneath Pip and lifting him onto his shoulder.

"Oh, do it properly, will you?" she said in the same weary tone. She approached and rearranged his paws before letting Pip gently down from his shoulder and into his arms in a cradle-hold. Howl looked down at the Eevee and felt a heavy weight in his chest.

"What?" said Mist, "What's with the sad expression?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing," he mumbled, and turned away.

Eventually he was crawling awkwardly back into Pip's hiding place and squinting towards a thin ray of moonlight gleaming through the hole in the dome's roof. He sensed a gust of wind pass above, and the leaves which were the dome's walls whispered and hissed in the darkness, but not a single bite of cold found him. Pip could have done much worse for a shelter. Howl proceeded into the middle of the dome and lowered him gently to the ground, where he used the leaves which he had gathered that very morning to pile on top of the little one's body to keep him warm as he slept.

Pip mumbled sleepily and his nose gave a little twitch, but he didn't wake.

Howl gave a small smile.

Someday, he thought, if he were to ever find peace in his life, nothing in the world would make him happier than to have children of his own. To tuck his own son or daughter to bed and tell them how much he loved them, and that he would forever be there for them. To tell them stories and console them when they were frightened or upset. To watch them grow. To watch them make friends…

His eyes felt warm all of a sudden and he breathed deeply to calm them. He looked down one last time at the small sleeping figure before turning back towards the tunnel.

"Goodnight, little one," he said, before vanishing into the silence of the night.

* * *

 _Well, how was it? I Thought this story had been a little on the moody side of things and wanted to add in a scene like this just to balance things out a little, as I don't want this to be full-on depressing. (Or am I miles too late for that?)_

 _I know this chapter wasn't action-packed or the return to the human characters like some of you wanted, (No, I didn't forget) and you may be glad to hear that I happen to have managed to keep the ball rolling even after I finished writing this chapter and the next one is very nearly complete! With the return to the humans and even something action-y in there too! I'm just triple-checking it to make sure it's as good as I can make it, and it will be ready very soon! Like... ACTUALLY soon. So while I'm working on it, please feel free to leave me some constructive criticism or even point out some of the things you enjoy. That's the only way I know if I'm doing a good job, after all._

 _Thanks for reading, and thanks in particular to a certain someone on DeviantArt who's been drawing a handful of scenes from this story and an all-around cool dude: OhDarnitJerry. He does some really fun posts and is a truly great artist!_

 _See you all soon!_


	10. Chapter 9

**_*Quick Note*_**

 _This chapter was a rare exception for me: once I got over the writers block and got the ball rolling, I could barely get myself to stop. Future chapters won't be this long, but while writing this one, I honestly couldn't think of a point to end it at which wouldn't either A: keep people waiting for the action-y stuff even longer. Or B: Leave it on the kind of cliffhanger ending which I don't think I've earned._

 _If you have time, please let me know your thoughts, good and bad, so I can improve._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _ **Chapter Nine:**_

 _ **Golden Aura**_

 **He scrambled up the stairs as fast as he could, leaping two at a time, his whole being crying out in torment. His sides were throbbing with vicious stitches, his body felt as though it weighed as much as lead, and his legs burned as powerfully as the fire that still raged far behind him.**

 **But he did not care.**

 **Nothing mattered to him more than what awaited him at the very top.**

 **He looked up and let out a strangled sigh of relief. The topmost stairs were coming slowly into view, though even now he had barely crossed the half-way steps, and more - even more destruction was hindering his way. There was a large gap in the stairs directly ahead which looked as though it had either been blasted or gouged out completely, which made him wonder - even in the midst of his horror - just what could have happened? But most of all, about the fate of his friends. Were they all alright? They must be, surely! They were no ordinary Pokémon! They were all more than capable of protecting themselves! But then, he thought, what could he expect from them if he did find them alive?**

 **Would they recognise him?**

 **If not, would they try to attack him?**

 **Was he going to be forced to do battle against the very Pokémon who had raised him like family?**

 **Would he be able to fight back...?**

 **As he leapt across the gap and continued to hasten forwards, he knew, deep within, the answer to that question.**

 **There was a crumbling sound below, and he felt himself plummet face-forward into the stone steps, but there was hardly time to even register the dull, nauseating pain when he felt himself begin to slide slowly back down their smooth stone. He struggled to stop himself. He tried to cling onto something, but still he slid further and further down, drawing ever closer to that deep, dark gap once again. He groaned and tried to push himself upright, but he didn't have enough strength left within him to even slow his own gathering momentum. Finally, in a last-ditch attempt to save himself, he breathed in as much air as he could, gathered all the strength he had, unsheathed a set of silver claws from his stronger right paw and drove them down into the ground before him, hoping to lodge them into something;** _anything_ **! He could no longer feel ground beneath his feet. The rest of his body was reaching that pit, and there was nothing he could do.**

 **His descent stopped abruptly.**

 **He looked up.**

 **His claws had managed to stick into a small space of earth between one step and another, and there they remained, unyielding. His lower body had been dropped into the empty air, and the rest of him was safe.**

 **Shaken, he pulled himself up and continued his ascent, though at a considerably slower pace than before.**

" **Please…" he panted, "Everyone… please just be alive."**

 **He was at the end of his limit when he finally reached the topmost stairs, and as he pushed himself upward one last time, his legs finally gave way and he fell down on all fours, breathing as though he had just had to battle a Pokémon the size of the cliff itself.**

 **Trembling all over with exhaustion, rage, fear and grief, he clenched his paws into fists and pushed himself up, stood still, breathed slowly…**

 **and opened his eyes.**

" **No…!"**

 **He staggered forwards, shaking his head, refusing to believe what he was seeing.**

" **NO…!"**

 **How could this be? How could there be** _nothing_ **? He had expected battle-signs, for sure, but he had been sure that the tent, at least, would still be there. Perhaps reinforced, locked up, chained, even guarded!**

… **But there was no tent. Nothing ahead except a wide patch of rubble, splinters of wood and dirt at the place where it had once been.**

 **Without conscious thought, he approached. He simply stared at the first place he had ever called home. It was gone. It was-**

 **But he never finished that thought, because at that exact moment something snagged on his left foot and he fell to one knee. A wave of cold shock sped through him so sharply he almost lost his last shreds of consciousness there and then. But he couldn't. He wouldn't let himself fall yet. He had to know! He had to find them! Surely they were not all…**

… **But wait! He looked more closely at the ground by his feet. Something was wrong. Or rather, something was missing. There should have been a small, wooden grate directly where he stood. He felt the ground. It felt weak.** _Thin_ **, even! He brushed at it, and saw something that made his heart beat fiercely once again.**

 **They could not** _all_ **be gone! Because** _someone_ **had placed a wide strip of the tent on the ground to conceal the wooden grate! And he knew it could not have been an accident or coincidence, because it had been covered so carefully that there hadn't been a single trace of the tent's bright colours visible before!**

 **He searched for an edge and tugged the concealment away. There it was, the wooden grate built atop the hole that descended deep into the cliff's body. Had he evolved and returned here before this disaster had taken place, and he would have heard the familiar voice of the sentry Pokémon calling out from deep below, asking for identification, business, and finally checking his footprint to confirm if he was who he claimed to be.**

" **Hello?" he called, and at once his voice was echoed within the darkened pit and out across the sky, so that it sounded as though there were dozens of him scattered all around, shouting for his friends. He called again, louder this time, and again there was no responding voice but his own, ringing in his own ears again and again.**

 **Howl could not continue. He began to pound his fist against the ground, his mind a whirlwind of pain and sheer, insurmountable remorse. His senses were beginning to sway, and his eyelids were beginning to fall against his command, but still, despite it all, he was just conscious long enough to hear a cracking, snapping sound beneath him as the old, wooden grate broke apart, and he was plunged into the depths of the pit below.**

His eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright.

It was dark all around him, and there was nothing but silence from within his surroundings. He breathed heavily and squinted around, wondering if he was still dreaming, but as his senses gradually caught up with him, he realised - or rather, remembered - that he was in his cave. He rubbed his eyes, got unsteadily to his feet, and moved dazedly towards where he knew the entrance to be. He felt for the entrance, found the curtain of sewn-together leaves, and pushed it aside. It was still night-time. He could only have slept a few hours at most. He stepped out, grateful for the cool, fresh air and the gentle breeze that swept through the trees.

He ought to appreciate this. The fact that he was still alive after so much, the fact that he was still able to feel cold and warmth ought to have made him feel blessed. But he could not remember the last time he had slept in peace. It must have weeks, maybe even a full month since these dreams had begun to resurface again.

He clenched his paws. Why would it not stop haunting him? He had chosen to live, and to live meant for him to move on.

He had chosen to spend his days alone trying to prevent this kind of suffering from wounding another soul, but why was a small part of him so determined to drag him back?

He shook his head, trying to rid it of these thoughts.

He couldn't sleep, he couldn't be still, he needed a distraction, and if he was going to stay awake, he might as well do something useful. And almost immediately, the solution came to him.

At last, he had finished tying his target - an old, dead log with a sharp, pointed end - to the branch of a tree near one end of his solitary training ground, and proceeded to test all of his Moves before he used them for real practise.

Howl's Moves were:

-Force Palm-

The Guardian beat, whacked and struck at his target, dodging out of the way as it swung back towards him, sharp-point first, and in the instant that its flat, bare side was exposed to him, he finally thrust his arm forwards and let out a burst of energy from within his open palm. A blaze of light emitted from the point where his Move connected to his target, and the branch was broken away from the tree completely by the pure strength of it, and both the branch and target went flying across his training ground 'til they crashed against the wall of his cave.

He smiled. Force palm, for sure, was still just as good a Move to him as it had always been.

-Aura Sphere-

Howl charged a concentrated ball of his own midnight-blue Aura in the palm of his paw and focused his mind on his target. With a little time and patience he had managed to craft several dozens of training dummies by salvaging tree branches, abandoned human armour and weapons and turning them into something which could be used not only to hold up smaller targets, but by themselves for sparring. He allowed a little more of his Aura to flow into the sphere until it was almost as large as his paw, then he finally thrust it forward and fired it across the range until it knocked the wooden helmet off the dummy and burst at the exact same moment as it had begun to fall back to the ground, the force sending it flying away.

He was not quite as pleased with this result. He knew that he had to improve on how long it took for him to charge a one-handed Aura Sphere, but was not sure how to do so. When he had first learned the Move, he had always charged it between both of his paws; as it was significantly quicker, easier, and able to grow to a much larger size. A fully-charged sphere would cause not a strong burst, but an explosion powerful enough to send an entire circle of opponents soaring through the air. He had decided to practice charging spheres with one paw because he'd often thought of how useful it might be to have one ready in real battle, but trying to rush the passing of one's own Aura into a sphere was extremely dangerous. Not only would be like him greatly exerting himself whilst bearing a number of deeply-bleeding wounds, but because if he charged the sphere beyond the amount it was able to contain, it would explode immediately, before he had even thrown it.

He would have to be patient and learn what he could step by step.

"True power comes from diligence, Howl!" said a sharp voice in his memory. He nodded grudgingly and went on to practising the next of his Moves.

-Extreme Speed-

Howl focused his energy into his paws and stared directly at a branch high above him. Then he took a few steps back and ran at the tree's trunk. He leapt forwards, propelled himself higher by dragging his feet down across it, and then, just before he began to fall, he let the energy out towards the ground and the force of the downward burst sent him hurtling upward through the air. He reached up and seized hold of the high branch and dangled from it for a spell, regaining his strength. And when he was ready, he focused his energy into his free paw again, kicked his feet up to the tree's trunk, used Extreme Speed to launch himself away and arrived with a roll to the earth.

Extreme Speed still felt proficient, for which he was glad, as it was a useful Move both inside and out of battle.

Which left the last of his Moves:

-Heal Pulse-

The very Move he had used to treat Rustle's injuries. He had learned this Move from Mist after he had saved Lopunny from the monster hunters, and as he had said that very day, it was not his finest. There was no way for him to practise it other than seeing how long he could keep it going for, but it was a complex Move that only worked on living, breathing creatures besides the one who used it. And as far as he might be aware, he could be keeping the Move going only to use less of its strength in exchange. The only way to use it effectively was to find the right balance, which seemed almost second-nature to Mist. He he ought to ask her to help him hone his skills with it, but he hardly ever had a moment of freedom.

His was not an easy life.

But he could always let some of his stress out during training.

Half an hour or so later he had dressed one of the salvaged posts into a regular training dummy with arms and legs, and he'd even given it a little wooden sword for added immersion. But as soon as he was finished, he stepped away from it, feeling all of his contained worries and tensions boiling up inside of him.

Faces flashed before his vision. Human faces. The faces of the countless bounty hunters, village vigilantes, and mercenaries who had invaded The Forest.

Howl began to growl, and readied his paws. Then he lunged and struck with a ferocious Force Palm at the training dummy, which wobbled and rattled atop the post, but was anchored firmly into the ground and remained upright. He leapt back and lunged for it again, beating at it from all angles, left, right, left, crushing his fist down on its upturned-bucket head before driving it forwards in another Force Palm. Swinging his foot up and around and smacking it in the side, knocking the little wooden sword out of its grasp. He leapt back again and fired an Aura Sphere at the dummy's fallen weapon before it had a chance to recover it, which sent it spinning into the distance.

The dummy was severely damaged by now; standing lopsided, its armour dented all around; its limbs hanging awkwardly as though attached by a single thread.

Howl was panting, his breath hot in the air, anger and adrenaline coursing through him. His victory was imminent. All that remained was the finishing strike. He sped forwards and fired an Aura Sphere towards the dummy's head, which knocked the bucket off completely. He soared through the air with Extreme Speed, crashed hard into the dummy's chest and broke it away from its post at last, driving it through the air and bringing it finally to the ground. He pushed himself up at once and slammed his foot down onto his opponent, holding them in place, the faces still flashing across his sight in the place where the bucket had been.

"Nice knowing you," he snarled, readying the blow which had finished them all, the strike which had knocked all of the warriors out cold.

But then, as abruptly as if he had been dreaming, with as little warning as a sudden gust of wind, the faces shifted once again.

A young man with black hair and sharp green eyes.

And then a woman with blonde hair and benevolent, deep-blue eyes.

He halted his arm in mid-strike just before it collided with them, and then the faces disappeared.

Howl staggered away from the now-faceless target and stood, staring at the damage he had done.

He was not feeling angry anymore. He was stunned and shaking. Perhaps even truly afraid for the first time in years.

He stooped to the dummy and lifted it upright, brushing the dust off of it.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, Sally and Rowan's faces still vivid in his mind's eye.

He saw the bucket lying dejectedly on its side a few feet away and went over to retrieve it, and as he picked it up, he found it had snapped down the middle. It was hardly a bucket at all.

And in a flash, as he'd put the two broken halves together, one final memory rushed to the surface, one final face loomed before his eyes.

A human. A human female. Her waist-length red hair flowing to one side in the gale, her hazel eyes gazing warmly at him, and her lips curved in a loving smile.

The bucket slipped from his paws and fell with a clatter to the ground, where it split into two once again.

Back in his cave, when he had managed to steady his mind, he was sitting on his bed beside a small, flickering fire born of the splintered bits of wood from his unrestrained training. He was drilling his claws into the bucket to create holes through which he would be able to tie the two halves back together again, because after all, the bucket might not be able to fulfil its main purpose any longer, but he would still be able to find other uses for it.

As he finished attaching the two broken halves, he held the bucket before him in the light of the fire, remembering the faces flashing across it. Without any contemplation, he found himself closing his eyes and scanning the bucket for Aura, wondering if he might see something, but all he found was thin, weak traces of his own Aura lingering dazedly in places where he had been the most vicious.

Just his own Aura, rubbed off on just an ordinary bucket. What he had seen was nothing more than memories. He tossed it into a corner atop a pile and opened his eyes. He still didn't feel like resting. His mind was unable to be settled. At this rate, he might not sleep at all tonight.

He sighed. No use staying in here, then. He extinguished the fire and left his cave again. A quiet walk through The Forest might be refreshing.

Howl moved almost noiselessly through the trees along the lush pathways, heading in whatever direction he found them taking him in. He remembered the night before, when he had talked with Rowan on their way to Sally's tavern, and wondered mildly what the two of them were doing now. Was Rowan still in Rota Village? He'd said that he would try to look for work there, but had also said he would hope to continue travelling this new world. And Sally…

He slowed down and leaned against a tree to one side.

Rowan and Sally… Two young humans who had shown _**interest**_ in him. Who had shown him _**kindness**_.

How strange some things in life turned out…

He heard a scuffle in the distance and a barely-hushed insult. And then there was another scuffle, a crunch of twigs and leaves, accompanied two loud thuds and grunts.

Howl looked towards the direction of the noises in alarm, for who in the world would be up at this hour? Not counting himself, that was.

He saw small dark silhouettes wrestling together and pushing, hitting, snarling garbled insults, and then one silhouette ran away from the other only to be engaged in hot pursuit. Howl closed his eyes and focused on their Auras before he lost track of them, hoping to catch up and stop whatever was going on, but what he saw caused a little lurch in his stomach. Among the two Auras that were ahead, there was a smaller, barely conspicuous Aura seemingly in the hold of the one that was fleeing from the other. The smaller Aura was unlike any other Aura that Howl knew.

It was gold. A shining, radiant gold.

Unable to believe what he was seeing, Howl sprinted after the two figures in the distance, hearing their voices more clearly as he drew close to their writhing tangle.

"Get OFF ME!" one of them cried suddenly, "It's MINE! Give it back!"

"No, it's MINE!" the other voice retorted, "It was in MY tree!"

"That's cuz I hid it there, stupid! I found it first - finders keepers - so it's mine!"

"Mine!"

"MINE-MINE-MI-"

"Enough!" Howl roared, seizing them and attempting to pull them apart, but the strugglers both held on fast to whatever was between them, and then Howl saw it again. Like a length of some mystical rope connecting the two Auras, there was a golden light hanging in-between one track of Aura which was one colour, and then connecting to another Aura on the other side.

Eventually Howl let go of one of them and snatched the object away with such force it was freed from both of their holds at the same time.

"What in the name of sanity are you doing?!" he demanded, "You could wake up half The Forest with the uproar you're making!"

"Who's there?!" a voice from the Aura on the right asked, a second before the one on the left vented the same question. For an answer, Howl enveloped his paw not holding the object in his own Aura, allowing it to glow and illuminate their surroundings.

He heard the two voices gasp and opened his eyes to see the faces of the two Pokémon before him.

"Bolt," he said, recognising the Emolga to the left, "and,"

But the face he saw next made him hesitate.

"…Ebony?" he said at last.

"S-Sir? What're you doing out here?" the Zorua asked uncertainly.

"I believe that's my line. What are _**you**_ doing out here?"

"Boss!" said Bolt, stepping forwards, "Ah, I'm so glad you're here! This kid keeps saying that treasure's hers! But you know me, and I don't lie! That thing is mine!"

"NO, IT'S NOT!" Ebony shouted, "It's MINE! I found it first, it's MY treasure!"

"Treasure?" Howl echoed, looking from one to the other, but instantly they turned back on each other and began quarrelling again, raising their voices until he told them sharply to stop.

"What do you mean treasure?" he asked, holding his Aura-illuminated paw towards the object held in the other, "There isn't anything like that in here."

"Well, apparently there is!" said Bolt, "It was lying right beneath some leaves in my tree and I never even knew it was th-"

"That's because I hid it there!" Ebony cut in, "I found it first, so it's rightfully mine! And you can buzz right o-"

"Where did you find this, Ebony?" Howl asked suddenly, his eyes gleaming in the light reflected off the item they were so intrigued in.

"U-Umm…" Ebony said hesitantly. Howl flicked his gaze briefly down to her and then held the object by its small, brown string closer towards the Aura-light.

It seemed to be a silver medallion of some kind, one that had been forged into the size of a typical gold coin. But Howl was still aware of the Aura he had seen lingering on it. And then he saw something etched on its surface. A shape. A pattern, the likes of which he knew very well. He had felt that same tingle of recognition only one night previously.

He closed his paw around the medallion. There was no need for Ebony to answer him. For he knew where she had 'found' this treasure. Both the symbol and the Aura lingering on it gave him a very clear idea.

This medallion belonged to a certain human. And it had been _**stolen**_ from her.

The light of the fire crackling in the second-floor room of Luna Tavern was the only light for a considerable amount of distance. The tavern itself was undisturbed that night, free from any travellers looking for rooms or loud, boisterous villagers drinking their minds away. The only occupant was Sally Luna herself, sitting in her quiet little room and reading just one of the many books she had in her collection. She had been reading that particular book all morning and afternoon, and it had grown to disappoint her with every passing page, which was thankfully almost due to end.

She had bid farewell to Rowan earlier that day, and, despite her still-lingering feelings about his actions the previous evening, told him she hoped to see him again sometime soon, and that whenever he could, to send her letters and keep in touch.

The memory of the words he had left her with in response still brought an angry flush to her cheeks.

She turned the final page of the book and then turned it over to look at its title one more time:

 _ **The Mind of The Monster**_

 _ **(Based on a true story!)**_

"What a heap of absolute bogus," she grumbled. She often found herself thinking vocally whenever she was alone.

Without a second thought, she tossed the book into the diminishing fire and watched as it caught light, warming the entire room in a matter of minutes. She wrapped her night-gown more tightly around her, rubbed her eyes wearily and moved over to the window to draw the curtains.

"Hasn't anyone bothered to learn _**anything**_ about them by now?" she asked the left curtain as she pulled it shut.

"I mean, sure, they're a different species and all, but why in the world would they _**ever**_ want to kidnap human 'damsels'? I'm pen-pals with Rowan, and that is hands-down the dumbest thing I've ever read in my entire life."

But as she was doing up the fastenings and moving onto the next window, a sudden thought came to her.

 _ **Rowan**_! There was _**someone**_ trying to learn about these creatures - or as she knew them to be called, Pokémon! And she could ask him! She could ask him what he knew in a letter! And if _**he**_ didn't know much, then…

She paused.

'Then maybe…' she continued in her head,

'If we ever see him again… I could ask…'

She felt her mind drift back to the Pokémon that Rowan had brought into her tavern.

'…him,' she concluded.

The gentle patter against the glass made her look up. It was starting to rain throughout the night. She wondered if the Pokémon had any kind of home for himself. If he had any shelter at all. She closed her eyes and gave a forlorn sigh. She sincerely hoped he did. And now that he was gone, there was so much more she wanted to know. So much she could have asked him…

She closed the last curtain with an air of finality and fell into her bed. She was due for another early morning, and there was nothing to be gained by mulling over matters she couldn't find answers to.

Lying on her side, she watched the last few specs of flame fade away until the room was finally cloaked in total darkness. Then there was silence. Silence but for the sound of the rain hammering on the roof of her home and deluging the prairie all around.

She closed her eyes.

But she had barely begun to fall into deep slumber when she opened them again. A voice had carried to her ears. A low, harsh, male voice hissing inaudible words. And then another voice. A man's, like the first, whispering in response. Sally managed to catch the word, 'asleep' being spoken, before a different voice cut haughtily across them both in a single breath.

Quietly she sat up and crept towards the window, pulling back the blinds just enough to see through. Her eyes scanned the shadowed path ahead, hoping to see some form of movement, but there was nothing to be seen. Not even the falling rain was visible to her. She heard the voices again, and found them drawing her eyes towards the ground below. She saw a pale shade of lantern-light spill over the area surrounding the front door, and she had only just realised what this could mean when she heard the faintest of metallic clicks.

'Burglars!' she thought, withdrawing her head from the curtains and backing away.

As if in response to her realisation, the sound of the door handle turning reached her, and she felt her insides convulse in horror.

But there was no familiar creek of the door itself opening.

She waited, holding her breath, until she heard more angry mutterings and then the metallic clicks resumed their succession.

'They're struggling,' she thought, trying to calm herself, 'They can't get in. They can't get the door open…!'

She let out the breath she'd been holding and tried to think her situation through carefully. She was alone. Isolated from any nearby villages by at least a mile or so. She had no means of defending herself, and her best hope was to somehow escape from these burglars before they found out where she was. But _**how**_ could she do that? The second floor was too high for her to jump from, and her tatty bed sheets would fall apart sooner than work as a rope to lower herself with.

Then the escape route came to her: the side door! Not only were there things in the room there that she could not bear to leave to the mercy of thieves, but the door itself was completely out of sight of the front of the tavern even in broad daylight!

She rushed as quietly as she could to her drawer, rummaged for her keys and then hurried out of her room as fast as she could without running.

Along the darkened corridor where the four guest rooms were, down the stairs leading into the main room, and then through the door.

There, once stood in the open doorway, she picked up the metallic clicks more clearly than ever. She could see light under the gap between the door and the floorboards, hear the voices' words at last, and thought she could actually see something in the keyhole trying to pick the lock. She froze on the spot, realising just how close she was to danger.

' _ **Why**_?' she found herself thinking, in spite of her own judgement, even with the awareness that the danger that frightened her so much was only feet away,

'Why _**this**_ tavern? Why _**me**_?'

The turn and click of the door handle almost made her cry out. She backed against the wall, her hand slapped over her mouth, hoping to stifle her uncontrollable panting. But still, once again, the door did not open. The handle turned more vigorously than ever, but still the lock had not been released.

She knew if she hesitated like that one more time, she would be in _**real**_ danger. Right now, what might happen to her was really in her control; the burglars didn't know she was awake, they didn't know she knew they were there, and she could use that as her one chance to get away. She knew what she mustn't let herself do was panic. There was nothing she could do about her own fear, but if she were to panic, she would be unable to move under her own command, unable to think and plan out her actions. If she panicked, in short, all the things she dreaded happening to her were _**going**_ to happen to her.

"C'mon," she whispered as loudly as she dared, "C'mon, Sally, you can do this…!"

She moved along the wall towards the door leading to the other room and slipped inside.

Her eyes had adjusted to the dark quite well by then, though she knew the location of what she was looking for, anyway. She felt her way towards the fireplace and swept her hands along the mantelpiece. One after the other after the other, she collected the little wooden boxes and stowed them in the pockets of her nightwear, but as her fingers reached the largest box, the one holding the most important possession she had, she found that something was amiss. She swept her fingers along it again, for surely she had imagined it! Surely!

But she _**hadn't**_.

As she felt the lid of the largest box beneath her palm a final time, she realised that the box was _**open**_. Her medallion, the medallion she cherished as much as anyone could cherish an object was _**gone**_! The medallion she'd held dearly for nine years was not there! It had vanished!

" _ **No**_ …!" she blurted out, but she caught herself and felt the surface of the mantelpiece desperately. It was the one thing she could not leave behind, the one thing she would never stop grieving the loss of!

" _ **Please**_ …!" she groaned, that too escaping her without her permission, but then came a sound more startling and more fear-invoking than any other she had experienced that night. The sound of a second click, and of voices nearby, just beyond the side door.

Sally couldn't help it; a barely-contained yelp forced its way out of her, and then the clicks stopped abruptly.

"D'ya hear that…?" muttured a voice from outside. Sally backed slowly away from the door, shutting her eyes tight, screwing up her whole face in one great effort to keep her voice under control. The voices had stopped. The clicks of the lock had stopped. The rain was all to be heard.

Sally turned away from the side door and crept back into the main room so carefully that her own footsteps were noiseless to her.

'Back upstairs…!' she thought, not daring to let so much as a single breath leave her, 'Back upstairs, and… I'll…' But she stopped and looked back to her right. The clicks of the front door had stopped as well. And unless she was horribly mistaken, they had stopped before the side door's clicks had begun! Was it possible that the burglars had given up completely on that door and moved onto the next? Yes, it must be! There wasn't any light beyond it anymore!

 _ **This was her chance**_!

She hurried along to the other end of the large room, taking extreme care to not bump into a chair or a table, and finally she reached the front door.

Slowly, quietly, hardly daring to breathe, Sally lifted the key from her pocket, gazed through the peephole, and then unlocked it as carefully as possible. She closed her hand around the doorknob, turned it, and then pulled.

The instant she had let go of the door, the instant it had been opened, something had happened which she could hardly even recall.

She had been a mere second from escape, about to leave her own tavern and flee into the cold, wet night, but something had been waiting for her, something had come crashing forwards and knocked her over, stunning her. And after that, everything was blank.

She could hear voices. Vague voices talking to each other, some exhilarated and some sounding cold and severe.

She thought she heard her own name mentioned, but couldn't be sure. Her whole body felt so numb, and she was so confused.

"HEY!" a harsh voice snapped, before a fist was slammed onto a table directly beside her.

She started and blinked. She could see a lantern flickering beyond the clenched fist. She looked up and saw there were masked figures crowded in front of her. Dark, masked, figures.

"You listenin' to me?" said the same harsh voice.

"H-Hah…" she croaked.

"What's that, lass…?" the voice breathed.

Sally croaked again, "Hah…" and finally she found her voice,

"…Hard not to."

The owner of the voice recoiled, and Sally felt a violent urge to lunge at the masked intruder, but she had barely pushed herself up when the other two seized her by the shoulders and pushed her back. She fell into what felt like a chair, and scowled up at the three of them. Now that she had been caught, a sudden anger had taken hold of her.

 _ **Outrage**_.

These men were holding her captive inside her own home!

"Good," jeered the first man, the one who seemed to be in charge,

"good… since you're behaving and listening, that'll make things even less complicated. We _**were**_ gonna try and find it all out for ourselves, you know, little lady, but since you were kind enough to welcome us inside… we have some questions for you."

"Questions?" she repeated scathingly, folding her arms, "Sorry, stranger, but I'm not available for silly surveys at the present time. Y'see, when a building has a little sign on its door saying 'closed', and the aforementioned building is _**locked**_ , that usually means that the building… is CLOSED!"

She bellowed the last word, hoping to show them all she was not afraid.

One of the men cracked his knuckles menacingly and advanced a step, but the leader held him back.

"Not yet," he hissed, lowering their arm, "Not yet…"

He turned back to Sally, who continued to glare, and when he gave a cruel smirk as though he were amused by this, she raised an eyebrow in disdain.

"Get out," she said, feeling her temper begin to raise even further,

"Get out of my house! Get out of my face! Just how low do you have to go to barge into a perfectly ordinary tavern like this?!"

"Ah, see now, that's why we're here, missy… This isn't an ordinary tavern, is it?" said the leader.

"Explain," she replied coldly.

"Well… why in the world would you set up a business way out here in the middle of nowhere? Surely you could have found a place in some of the neighbouring villages?"

"I appreciate the peace, quiet, and privacy."

"Oh, I'm sure you do, Miss! I'm sure you do…!"

"Oh, spare me the riddles and the wannabe-creepy way of talking, would you? You don't scare me. Ask your questions and _**get**_ _**out**_!"

"You watch your mouth!" said one of the other men, but again the leader held them back and growled at them to restrain themselves from any further interruptions, even though he himself sounded like he was beginning to lose his patience too.

"All right then," he said, "Answer me this, Sally Luna. If you say that is your reason for being so all the way out here, then I can only assume you're telling the truth. But why, then, do you run this whole place by yourself? All the cooking, cleaning and serving - that's all your job, isn't it? It must be such hard work!

But the real question isn't _**why**_ ; it's _**how**_. Something like that… it's unbelievable. I don't think that scrawny body of yours could manage so much labour on its own, so you must have _**someone**_ helping you…"

"No. I don't. And you make it sound like I'm managing a palace. This is one building. I think my scrawny body can cope."

"Really? Well, we don't. You must have had a very good reason for choosing such a life, Miss Luna. Such a hard, lonely life.

…Unless there was some sort of… special assistance? Some presences that you don't make public in the tavern?"

"Special assistance?" Sally repeated, "I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"Why _**here**_ , Miss Luna? Why _**alone**_? Why so very close to _**The Forest**_?"

"Why… What're you getting at?"

The leader hissed, showing rank, filthy teeth and leaned forwards, placing his hands on the chairs arms.

"Where are they, woman?" he demanded, his breath rotten inside her nostrils, "Where are the monsters? Where are you keeping them?"

"Monsters?" she repeated, angling her face away from his, "There're no monsters in here. Well, not the kind you mean."

The man held his position for a few moments, then withdrew his face from hers (for which she was glad) and stood to his full height again.

"Ah well… that's okay…" he said, and there was hardly a trace of calm left in his voice. His anger was clear and audible even to his companions, who had shifted glances at him from behind their masks.

"We don't really need you to answer that one. We'll find out for ourselves soon enough. But before we do, I have just one last question for you.

Last night, I'm told, you were visited by… particularly strange customers, right? A hooded stranger and a young man?"

Sally said nothing. There was no point in denying it, though she wasn't going to admit it either.

"We were just hoping you might tell us who they were, Sally? Those two-"

"I don't know," she said at once, so quickly she had barely formed separate syllables, "I don't know who they were. Just customers. But If I did know, I wouldn't tell you. That's a big rule about running a business: not giving out personal information of your customers. And I bet if I looked really hard, I'd probably find a big, underlined paragraph about not giving it to the guys who invade your home at night, either."

"Don't you try to hide it…! Who was that hooded stranger?!"

"I said I don't know," she spat, "I get a lot of 'hooded strangers' at my tavern, which _**one**_ are you referring to?"

The man's anger was growing even clearer by now. He seemed, to Sally, to be exercising all his restraint not to seize her by the throat.

He drew away, breathing heavy puffs, and she could see his fists trembling.

"The boy, then," he said, looking at her from his new position, his eyes gleaming like his companions' in the light of the lantern flickering on the table,

"I guess I can't blame you for not knowing - or saying you don't know a fella with a hood pulled up, but you had better not deny you know that kid."

Sally felt her palms begin to tremble. She knew what they wanted to know, and she knew what might happen if she didn't tell them. But _**Rowan**_ …! She couldn't sell him out! She wouldn't! He would never do that to her if he'd been in her position!

"Who was he, Luna? Tell me _**now**_! I know you know 'im! I saw the two of you hugging. I saw you show 'im into that 'private room' and sure didn't see him comin' out! Tell us who he is _**right**_ _**now**_!"

Sally closed her eyes. Then answered with the utmost finality:

"Dunno."

The rain fell more loudly outside the walls of her home than ever, and there was even the sound of wind wailing alongside it, but there was no noise inside the tavern itself.

She refused to open her eyes, refused to look at any of the men, for if she saw their faces, her spirit would sway and her resolve would falter and true fear would enter her heart. She knew what might happen to her next was going to be the most frightening thing that had happened all evening, perhaps even, the most frightening thing in her whole life.

But it was for Rowan.

She would _**never**_ betray Rowan.

"YOU LYING, LITTLE WITCH!"

Sally's eyes flew open just in time to see the sole of a boot speeding towards her and land with agonising force right between her eyes.

She cried out as she felt pain bludgeon her mind and the chair she was seated on topple, and then they fell down together, her and the chair, so hard that she was flung off of it before she'd even hit the ground.

Her senses were all muddled and hazy and full of pain. Her vision was blurred, her ears were ringing, and all she felt was the trembling and thudding vibrations of the floor beneath her. The voices were dim, but she managed to make sense of some of what was being said.

"Garber! Garber, stop!" said one voice.

"Garber! We came here to investigate! Not _**this**_!" said another.

And then the voice of the leader roared above the commotion,

"GET OUT OF MY WAY! MOVE! She's some kinda person-hating monster-freak, I know it! You can see it in her eyes! She'll get her monster friends to attack our village!"

"You don't know that, Garber!"

"I DO KNOW IT! Get out of the way, and I swear you'll all thank me for this someday! You'll realise I did what I had to!"

"Garber! NO, GARBER! Get ahold of yourself, man! We're not here to-"

But whatever the man had been about to say was never known. At that exact moment, there had been a succession of sounds from across the room; first a scuffle of some kind, a creak of the front door being moved on its hinges, and then a faint hiss through the air as something small went soaring past the men's heads and smashed through the glass of the lantern, sending the pieces leaping in all directions. All this had transpired in barely a second, before the tiny flicker of lantern-light went out.

Sally heard cries of fear and alarm from all three men, and would have joined them if she hadn't felt so faint and dizzy.

But her heart was beginning to beat fast, sending adrenaline speeding through her body. She didn't have the strength to open her eyes fully or lift her head up from the ground, but she was still able to make out noise.

"What was that?!" said one of the men's voices.

"No idea!" replied another, "I can't see a thing! Where are you? Where's the girl?!"

Sally tried to move her arms and pull herself away from the voices, not wanting to be anywhere near when the one of the man named Garber told the other two to spread out and look. But when she did hear his voice, it was unlike anything she had been expecting. She listened more closely. Was that a tremor she could detect in his breathing?

"No…!" she heard him mutter, "No, no, no… H-How…? W-Why…?"

"Garber?" said one of the other voices in concern, "Garber? What's wrong with you?"

"We're dead," said Garber, his voice straining, "We're done for. _**It's**_ here! H-He's here - _**It's**_ come here for us!"

"What? Who do you mean?" said a final voice, "Who's here?"

Then Sally's eyes fell upon the door, and her insides gave a dull plummet. There was a mysterious blue light beyond the front door, shining through the gaps and keyhole, growing brighter and brighter, so that it began to spread across the floor.

" _ **Who's here**_ , Garber?!" a voice demanded, starting to sound afraid.

The light had spread far by then, and she could see the men's shadowy outlines turned towards the door, and two of the heads looking towards the third.

Garber's voice trembled, vivid with fear, and he blurted out at last,

"The monster! The voice in The Forest! It's the same light as before! The monster in The Forest is here to kill us all!"

"-Wh-What?!-"

"-Garber?!-" said the other men's voices in succession.

"It's here, it's here…!" Garber moaned, sounding uncannily different from who he had been moments earlier, "The _**Demon**_ …! It's _**here**_!"

"Garber, don't talk like an idiot!" said one other voice, "The Demon stays in The Forest, everybody knows that! That light's just… moonlight!"

" _ **No**_ …!" Garber hissed, "I'm telling you, that's it right there, I remember that light! It's right outside that door!"

"Oh puh-lease, Garber, wake up. You sound like a scared little kid right now."

Sally heard the same voice give a scornful laugh and then saw a figure move towards the door, extending his arm.

His companions urged him back in protest, but he took not the slightest notice and pulled the door fully open. The midnight-blue light shone blindingly into their eyes and Sally shut hers tight, expecting noises, fear, confusion and cries of pain.

But none came.

"What in…?" said a voice.

"Is that it? Is that what…?" said the voice of the man by the open door.

Sally raised her head an inch or so and looked towards the light. There was no-one there. No monstrous creature framed in the doorway. But there was _**something**_ there. A kind of shimmer in the air. A dark, transparent haze of deepest blue.

Then the man's voice by the door sounded. He was laughing. An uncertain, cautious laugh.

"Is that it, Garber? That the dreaded Demon you won't shut up abou-"

All three men yelled out in horror as a clawed paw enveloped in the same midnight-coloured light plunged down from above the doorframe and pulled the burglar up until all they could see was his legs. They heard him splutter and gasp for breath, saw his legs flailing wildly around and heard the unmistakable rumbling of a monster's growl.

And then the noises Sally heard next made her feel sick. Cries of agony, cracks, thuds, merciless snarls as whatever it was holding the man beat and brutalised invisible points.

"No!" cried the voice of the man who had laughed alongside his companion, "EDWARD, NO!"

The light beyond the struggling man's legs had almost been extinguished, but through it Sally saw one man rush forwards to help, but he'd barely taken two steps when there was a fleeting glimpse of the man named Edward falling to the ground before a dark figure swung down and kicked aside the second man, and as it passed through the shimmer of light in mid-air, it wafted like smoke before giving out and plunging the surroundings into darkness. There came a powerful thud and a crash as the man by the door tumbled back and fell into tables and chairs, and then more thuds - this time accompanied by grunts and wheezes as the creature struck the leader multiple times until he came crashing down as well, the weight of his fall alone making the floorboards strain. And then Sally heard two light patters on either side of her, and caught a trace damp fur in the air.

"No…!" she gasped, "Get awa-" The words had barely left her when she felt two large paws take a powerful hold under her arms and felt her body leave the floor entirely. She couldn't even find the strength to struggle. She couldn't take in enough air to make any form of noise. All she could do was let herself be carried away from the front door, the men, and her one and only means of escape.

She wobbled as the creature came to an abrupt halt and lowered her into a corner.

She shut her eyes tight once again and pressed herself against the wall as if hoping she could disappear into it.

The rage-filled sounds that had been rumbling from the monster suddenly stopped, and Sally pressed herself even closer into the wall, tensing her whole body, preparing for the inclement pain of her own attack.

One of the large paws gripped her arm and she gasped and tried to pull it away, but the creature tugged it out and held it firmly, grasping her hand with the other paw.

Sally couldn't help it; her own end was near and there was nothing she could do to stop it! A sob was shaken from her, and before she knew it, then another and another.

The paw's grip loosened.

The creature's hold was firm on her wrist, but gentle and delicate at the same time. She felt something lowered into her palm - something thin and metal.

And strangely familiar to her.

"Wh…" she croaked.

She closed her fingers around the object and felt a flat metal surface pressed into her hand whilst smooth strands brushed along her fingertips.

"What…"

She tried to speak, tried to sit up and see the dark figure in front of her more clearly, but then she felt a paw suddenly push her back against the wall, and heard a growl so low and deep it made the floor beneath her quake.

She understood and kept still. The growling subsided. The creature released its hold on her, and she heard it disappear into the shadows again. Sally could hear the burglars whispering to one another and wished she could see where they were.

"Where's the door!?" came Garber's hushed voice, "We've gotta get out of here now! Isaac! Where are you?! Edward?!"

"Shh! Garber!" came the other man's voice, and then a noise made them fall silent. A shuffle and a clatter of wood on wood.

"It's here somewhere…!" said Garber.

There was a quiet, scratching sound, and then a tiny spec of flame illuminated one of the burglars masked faces. He held the lit matchstick out before him and turned this way and that as the clattering sounds fell again.

"Isaac, what're you doing, you-"

Garber never managed to finish his sentence, for a shadow suddenly leapt out from the darkness and crashed into the man holding the match, which fell down and was snuffed out. There were the sounds of a close struggle; grunts, quick, narrow breaths, wrestling and striking, and then there was a loud thud, and the burglar by the name of Isaac gave a weak groan before falling silent. There was an exclamation of utmost fury from Garber and then the sound of heavy boots thundering through the room, knocking tables and chairs and all other obstacles out of the way. There came an odd sound - something of an alarmed snarl, and then a thin hiss through the air. More clatters, more grunts and then a terrible slicing sound and a roar of pain and rage that pierced Sally from one ear to the other. Another thud, and then a sudden burst of light showed Garber hurtling backwards through the air and collide with an upended table. Bare, padded feet running across the wooden floor, and then one last strike,

one last grunt,

one last thud.

Sally's whole body was numb from the cramped kneeling-position she had been forced to occupy, and her own breaths stung her bone-dry throat.

However frightened she had been before was very little compared to how she felt now. At least before she'd had some control, at least she'd known roughly what was happening and what to expect. Now she was not even sure whether to move or to stay put, to call out or remain silent, to wait or to act.

She was surrounded in uncertainty.

Slowly, very slowly, she leaned forwards, and squinted through the darkness, though no form took shape other than the ones of chairs and tables that had been knocked onto their sides. At last she climbed stiffly to her feet and breathed carefully for a minute. Then she took a cautious step forwards.

There was a noise from something ahead, and then the sound of that something ahead moving across the room.

She staggered back in horror, and felt her back against the wall again. It couldn't be true! It couldn't be! The Demon was approaching her. It was not going to spare her after all. She was a human, and clearly that made her an enemy.

She hid her face in her hands as the footsteps became louder.

"No…" she pleaded, "Please no… Please just leave me alone… Please just go away… Go back to The Forest…!

I've never hurt any Pokémon and I never will…! I don't want to die, please…!

I won't…

Please…

Please don't…"

She felt hot tears stream down her cheeks and continued pleading with the creature all the while, knowing deep down that it was no use.

What a terrible way for it to end. She had always known the risks of being so close to The Forest, but she had never once set foot inside, or even so much as seen it up close! She had only just started getting used to her new home, only just started to grow familiar with the life she had chosen!

But in the end, it had all been for nothing.

'Rota Village must have done something intolerable…' she thought, listening to the sound of the Demon's footsteps…

…moving away?

She fell silent again and listened hard. Yes, there was no mistaking it! the Demon had not been approaching, it had been leaving! She was going to be spared!

But this great rush of relief did not last long.

As her pulse began to relax and her ears began to pick up sound more clearly, she realised that the volume she had been hearing in the creature's footsteps had not been a misinterpretation; there was a definite limp to its every step. And then she heard another sound. A steady _**drip**_ , _**drip**_ , and slide of some oily substance along the floor.

In the back of her mind, she remembered that terrible slicing sound that had rent the air.

The Demon of The Forest was wounded.

There was the sound of some objects being thrown roughly aside, or pushed along the floor, but all the while those unsteady footsteps drew closer and closer to where she knew the door to be.

She waited, her breath held. Waited for the footsteps to fade into the distance. But instead there came a sound of feet sliding on the floor and something falling hard to the ground, and then came a roar of pain so terrible it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Then there was no noise at all. The rain had stopped, and the night was still. There wasn't anything to be heard.

"Hello…?" she called, her own voice sounding uncanny in her ears.

"Hello?"

There was no response.

Sally felt her way forwards, twice nearly tripping over a chair leg or stepping-and-falling over one of the burglars limp bodies, and she even nearly walked headlong into the open door, but finally she found where the creature had fallen and looked down in the direction of its heavy, snarling, hoarse breaths.

She couldn't see anything through the pitch-black night. Not even the outline of the wounded figure. Then, as if in response to this dilemma, the moon finally drifted out from behind its veil of clouds and clear, bright light shone down onto the earth, spreading over the Pokémon who had saved her.

The Demon of The Forest _**himself**_.

" _ **Howl**_ …?" Sally Luna breathed into the night.

Howl's eyes flickered and his breaths snagged as she lowered her eyes to the pool of blood beneath him, oozing scarlet all over the grass.

The Demon's eyes drifted shut.

His breaths faded away.

And silence fell once more.


	11. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten:**_

 _ **Fragments Of The Past**_

 **Forward, one painful step at a time, guided through the pitch-dark tunnel by nothing but old memories and weary senses. He crawled onward, remembering how when he had last been here, he'd been forced to keep his head down to avoid bumping it on the tunnel roof, and now he was down on all fours, barely able to fit inside it at all. But he had no choice but to persist. He had no desire to remain in this pit for any longer than he had to, and as he knew now that somebody was inside the guild, then somebody would be able to tell him what had happened to Treasure Town, if everyone was all right, and if so, where he could find them. Assuming that 'somebody' was not an enemy.**

 **On and on he went, for how long he didn't know or care in the slightest. Every minute felt momentous to him.**

 **Finally he turned the corner and saw light ahead in his path shining down from the tunnel roof, and dragged himself towards it until he was finally directly beneath it. He straightened up, preparing to feel the tremendous strain on his back and his limbs all loosen in a second, but what he felt instead was his head collide with something above and then collapsed onto to all fours again.**

 **He looked up.**

 **Another grate?**

 **There had never been a second grate over the tunnel's entrance before, and certainly not a grate reinforced by a padlock!**

 **He listened closely for the sound of some presence. But none came. He reached up, and, with one strong pull, broke away the padlock so that the grate fell open like a trap door. For a full minute he waited, straining his ears to pick up signs of life beyond his awareness. But even still, the guild might be deserted for all the noise he could hear.**

 **But he knew it wasn't.**

 **And so he charged an Aura Sphere between his paws until it was large enough for a reasonably powerful impact, then held it with his left paw, gripped the top of the pit with his right, and hoisted himself out.**

" **NOW!"**

 **He had a split-second's warning and a split-second's glance of an immense cluster of bright lights aimed directly at him and leapt out of the way as multiple Moves shot forwards and exploded at the exact place he'd been standing. The force of the explosion sent him soaring across the room and he rolled along the floor, still holding onto the small blue sphere that was his one chance of retaliation. He waited until another cluster of shots had been fired before leaping to the side and finally hurling the Aura Sphere at his attackers, but then another smaller Move intercepted his own.**

 **Someone in the crowd had deliberately held back from attacking alongside their allies and waited until they'd had a clear shot, and Howl had barely a second to register this when someone came charging forwards on all fours through the little puff of light and smoke where the Moves had connected, and then his indistinct opponent lunged and crashed their skull into his stomach. His upper-body was forced down, and then his attacker spun round and kicked him hard, knocking him back to the ground and exhausting his very last shreds of strength.**

 **That would have been the impact that had finally finished him and sent him into the depths of unconsciousness if he had not heard the voice of his attacker at that very moment.**

" **And now you STAY down!"**

 **He struggled to open his eyes and saw the outline of the Pokémon who had spoken.**

" **B…" His voice was so weak and silent it was lost even to his ears, but still his mouth formed the name,**

"… **Bidoof…?"**

 **-and then he heard the voices of the rest of his attackers, praising Bidoof for his skill and telling him how amazed they were that he'd improved so much, to which Howl heard him say meekly,**

" **Gee, thanks, you all! I'm really not that good…"**

 **And then another voice sounded more clearly. A voice that, like Bidoof's, Howl could not fail to recognise.**

" **Oh yes, you are, Bidoof!" said a pompous, superior voice, "You most definitely have improved! And just when I was starting to think you really were good for nothing at all, you proved me - and Loudred AND Croagunk all wrong! Well done, kiddo!"**

" **Um… beg your pardon?" said Bidoof, sounding swayed.**

 **Howl tried to angle his head off the ground to see the voices owners, but then the pompous voice snapped,**

" **Oho no you DON'T!"**

 **-and then he heard sounds of movement and felt a small, but powerful beak jab excruciatingly hard into his chest. White-hot pain surged within him and he didn't even have the strength to cry out.**

" **No!" he managed to say, as he saw the owner of that familiar voice raise their beak again and prepare to strike a second time,**

" **CHATOT, STOP!" he shouted.**

 **The owner of the pompous voice gave a little start and leapt away from him.**

" **Wha…" he gasped, "What was… Did it just speak to us?!"**

 **Howl gritted his teeth and looked up at the two Pokémon beside him imploringly.**

" **Bidoof…!" he said, "Chatot…!** _Stop_ **…!"**

 **He saw their faces mirroring shock and confusion, and couldn't understand why! Why were they attacking him like this?! Why were they looking at him as if he were a deadly enemy?!**

" **What in…?" said Bidoof, looking dumbfounded, "What in the world?! Did it… Did he just speak, by golly?!"**

" **Yes…" said Chatot, and Howl was infuriated to hear a note of anger and wariness in his tone, "Yes… no doubt about it."**

" **How can that be?!" said Bidoof, sounding appalled, "Unless… Unless he isn't one of them? Unless he's not-"**

" **Of course he is, Bidoof!" Chatot cut across him, "Their leader thinks he can deceive us by making them act like they know us! It's** _obviously_ **a trick! But you don't fool me…!"**

 **Howl grunted as the small Bird-Pokémon lunged at him and forced his head back to the ground.**

" **You hear me in there?! No-one fools ME!" Chatot squawked, raising his beak high.**

" **No…" Howl groaned, trying to raise his paw, trying to make them listen to him, "Chatot… it's** _me_ **…!"**

 **But Chatot raised his beak ever higher, and now its outline was beginning to glow. He was readying a deadly Move that Howl had no way to stop.**

" **Hey? What's Everybody up to?" said a voice from out of sight. All movement came to a halt. "Everybody? What's all the noise?"**

" **G-Guildmaster…" said Chatot, the light diminishing, and lowering his beak, "Guildmaster, what are you doing? You should be resting…"**

 **Howl heard a vague response about not feeling tired from the newcomer, and looked towards their voice.**

 **There, standing beside the open doors of Guildmaster's chamber was Wigglytuff, the Guildmaster himself.**

" **G-Guildmaster, I must please ask you to return to your chambers," said Chatot, "Even if you're feeling wide-awake, you shouldn't be moving around so soon. And… I'm afraid you don't want to see this."**

" **Why?" inquired Wigglytuff, leaning his head to the side in an attempt to see past Bidoof, "What's up?"**

" **Guildmaster, please! It's not important. We've got it all under control. Please, go back and rest…!"**

 **But Wigglytuff seemed not to have heard him, and continued to tilt his head to this way and that until Bidoof finally moved out of his way.**

 **As Howl saw the Guildmaster clearly for the first time, he felt that if he'd had the strength to gasp, he would have done there and then. Wigglytuff was looking more battle-worn than he'd ever seen before in his life. His right arm was held in a sling and wrapped heavily in bandages - as was his left ear and eye, and there were dressings patched onto various spots on his round belly. Whatever had happened to Treasure Town had been enough of a skirmish to harm even the Guildmaster…?!**

 **Wigglytuff gasped as he saw Howl, held down by his right-hand Pokémon, and took a frightened step backwards.**

" **Is that a…? Oh no! Oh no! They've found us already?!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, sounding panic-stricken.**

" **No, Guildmaster, we're alright!" said Chatot immediately, burrowing his talons into Howl's chest as he spoke, "It's just this one here who found us, and we're going to make sure it doesn't go revealing our location! We'll make sure to seal up the entrance again as soon as we're done here!"**

 **Howl looked desperately towards the Guildmaster and reached out a paw towards him, "Wigglytuff…!" he grunted, "Please…!"**

" **How DARE you try to fool our Guildmaster!" Chatot crowed suddenly, jabbing Howl directly on the snout, "How dare you, you scoundrel! You scum of the land!" He jabbed him again, harder this time, and then addressed someone to the side, away from Wigglytuff,**

" **Everyone! Help me move this one away, please!"**

 **Howl heard footsteps approaching and reached imploringly towards the Guildmaster, trying to speak, to tell them all who he was, to tell them all to stop! But he had only just felt several holds on his limbs when Wigglytuff cried out, "EVERYONE, WAIT!"**

 **The hold's slackened, and Howl heard the Guildmaster's heavy footsteps rushing towards him.**

" **Guildmaster!" said Chatot's voice, "You mustn't let it fool you!" But Wigglytuff ignored him completely and told everyone to put him back down right away! Some voices were reluctant and concurred with Chatot, but Wigglytuff stamped his foot and ordered them again to do as he said!**

 **Howl felt his body lowered to the ground again, and the figures all around him backed away to allow Wigglytuff some space. All except for Chatot, who remained perched on top of him.**

" **Please, Guildmaster, I must urge you to reconsider…!" he pleaded.**

" **Get out of the way, Chatot!" said Wigglytuff, stomping his foot on the ground again and glaring with his one visible eye.**

 **Chatot gave a little shudder, and then obeyed, backing away out of sight.**

 **The Guildmaster moved in close and searched Howl up and down, his mouth held slightly open, and his ears twitching every few seconds.**

 **Then, at last, after gazing intently for a while at Howl's face, his open-mouthed expression suffused into a bright, unmistakable beam of purest joy.**

" **YAAAYY!"**

 **The Guildmaster whooped, and as though he'd completely forgotten about his wounds, he leapt back and began to dance on the spot, cheering ecstatically and pirouetting to left and right.**

 **Even in the depths of his wavering perception, Howl could not help but feel utterly baffled by what was happening - not by the Guildmaster's behaviour, however; this was in fact quite an occasional way for him to react, but only to news that was especially good for him!**

 **What did he have to cheer about at a time like this?**

 **Wigglytuff turned on the spot to face him at last, smiling like a little child, and said, "I knew you'd be back, Howl! I knew you wouldn't break your promise!" -and with sudden agility, he sped back to his side, helped him into a sitting-position, seized his paw with each of his own and shook it with incredible force.**

" **How are you, Howl?!**

 **Where've you been?!**

 **How've you been?!**

 **I'm okay! We're okay!**

 **Well, ah, actually no, we're not okay. Not okay at all. We're all in a bit of a pickle, actually.**

 **-But YOU! How're YOU?"**

" **A-Ah…" Howl began, at a loss as to what he should say. But then Chatot's voice turned his eyes away from Wigglytuff.**

" **Guildmaster…? What are you talking about?"**

" **Howl's back!" said Wigglytuff,**

" **Howl's come home!"**

" **That's… not Howl, Guildmaster," said Chatot, glowering at him.**

" **Yes it is!"**

" **No, Guildmaster, it isn't."**

" **Yes it is!"**

" **GUILDMASTER! Don't be ridiculous! He's one of them! He's one of the Shadows!"**

" **No, he ISN'T, Chatot! Don't be such a big meanie!"**

" **Guildmaster,** _look_ **at him! He has the marks! And his eyes-!"**

" **I** _am_ **looking at him, Chatot! It's Howl! These aren't marks all over him, it's just dirt!"**

' **Dirt?' Howl thought, looking down at his own body. Dirt was not the only thing he was covered in. In fact, it was no wonder that nobody had recognised him at first glance; he could barely recognise himself.**

" **Tell 'em, Howl!" said Wigglytuff, turning to him, "Tell 'em it's you!"**

" **Guildmaster!" said Chatot at once, "That is not Howl! You are making a terrible mistake!"**

" **No, Chatot,** _you're_ **the one who's making a mistake!" retorted Wigglytuff, "Tell him, Howl!"**

 **But when the Guildmaster looked back, it was not to see him respond or concur with what had just been claimed; instead Howl was gazing towards the gathering of Pokémon that Chatot was stood ahead of.**

" **Everyone…" Howl breathed, feeling a terrible weight on his shoulders lift gradually. The members of the guild were all there, and all alright. Sunflora, Chimecho, Loudred, Croagunk, Corphish, Dugtrio and his son, Diglett, Bidoof and then Chatot. They were all alive.**

 **-But then, he found himself wondering, where were the others?**

 **Where were his fellow recruits?**

 **Where was Illume?!**

" **Okay then!" said Wigglytuff, pulling on Howl's arm,**

" **We'll prove it to you, Chatot! I show you that this is Howl - all evolved up! Come on, Howl! Come ON!" Wigglytuff nagged and urged until Howl finally stood up and allowed himself to be pulled away from the others' frightened, wary eyes. Wigglytuff guided him through into his chambers, closing the door behind them as they went, and steered him over to the wall at the end of his room, where a large flag decorated with Wigglytuff's own face was hung, and pushed it aside.**

 **To Howl's great surprise, there was not a blank wall behind the flag - which he now took to be a kind of veil - but there was another wooden door! Wigglytuff pushed it open and ushered him through.**

 **As soon as he was inside, Howl felt cool air on his body and heard the sound of wind stirring up high above. The floor beneath him was of smooth stone, and the air in his lungs was the most fresh and clean air he'd breathed all that day.**

 **Wigglytuff's secret room gave a powerful impression of natural beauty. At the far end of the room was a large opening in the wall, through which the view would no doubt have been impressive if he took the time to look properly, and in the middle of the room was a large pool of clear-blue water.**

" **It's cool, isn't it?" Wigglytuff asked from beyond the flag, "Rainwater's been falling through that hole in the ceiling for ages now!"**

 **Howl turned his gaze skyward, and sure enough, above the pool in the middle of the room was a large hole through which he could see the dim, smoke-ridden sky still desperately trying to allow the sun to blaze through it all.**

 **He drew in close to the middle of the room and looked into his own reflection.**

" **Guildmaster…" he said finally, hardly able to believe what he was looking at, "how did you recognise me?"**

" **I'm not really sure!" said Wigglytuff happily, "But when I saw your eyes up close, Howl, I could just tell! I knew you'd come back someday, I just knew it!"**

 **Howl said nothing. Normally he would have been bursting with responses to the things the Guildmaster had said, but somehow he was not right now. He crouched, scooped water out from the pool and splashed a few pawfuls of the liquid into his eyes before moving down to his shoulders. A silence reigned, in which he heard Wigglytuff humming quietly to himself and, even though it was far away now, the fire of the town still burning and crackling. When he'd been cleaning himself for a few minutes, he said, "Guildmaster… I'm so glad to see you again. And I'm glad that Chatot and the others are all alright too.**

 **But…" He paused in the motion of splashing water onto his chest, and closed his eyes, letting the water fall back into the pool.**

" **Yes, Howl? What is it?" asked Wigglytuff's voice.**

 **He did could not answer right away. He realised now just how much he'd been dreading this moment. The moment he would ask a question which he knew he must ask.**

 **What had happened while he'd been away? What had happened to Treasure Town? Where were the town citizens and the other guild recruits? Where was Illume?**

 **He heard a voice and opened his eyes.**

" **Guildmaster…?" he said, before he felt his mind drifting away and saw his surroundings disappear around him.**

He was waking. Slowly but surely, he was waking. His mind felt like it was being pulled from the depths of a vast, deep ocean back to the open air, where he felt real senses. _**Real**_ pain and _**real**_ warmth along his body.

He heard a voice, a woman's voice, humming a slow and nostalgic tune. He remembered hearing a voice like this a long time ago, in a place far away, both from The Forest and his old hometown, and at the time, it'd seemed to be disconnected from the whole world.

In the stretch of darkness all around, he saw a figure crouched directly beside him and mopping at a deep cut on his forearm. He recognised the figure as a human. And not just any human. It was a woman; the same woman, with the light of the sun blazing through the window behind her as if to show her long, radiant red hair glowing in its brilliance. She lifted her hazel eyes, saw him watching her, and smiled.

And then, in the blink of an eye, the woman disappeared and he felt his mind being pulled higher towards the surface.

The humming voice was growing clearer and clearer. He began to pick up other noises alongside it and smells in his surroundings:

Old, dry wood; the ashes that lingered after a burning fire; and the smell of cloth and some sweet, floral aroma.

He could feel cool, fresh air on his face and a deep warmth along his entire body from his shoulders to the ends of his feet, and he could hear the voice's tune more clearly than ever.

It was a slow, moving melody, empowered by the performance that the voice gave it. A tune so soothing he felt it ease the pain in his centre and fill his mind with some of the most wonderful memories of his life.

Eventually, at what seemed to be hours later to him, the melody came to an end, and, with a tremendous effort, he opened his eyes.

He was lying on his back and looking up at an angular wooden ceiling. He shifted his limbs cautiously, clenching and unclenching his paws, before sitting carefully upright. He gritted his teeth as a sudden dull pain swept through him and looked around.

He had been sleeping in what appeared to be some kind of cot, and he appeared to have awakened inside some kind of cabin.

The floor and walls were formed of identical wooden boards, there was an armchair before a fireplace in a close-by corner, and all around in what was a relatively small room were strange box-shaped objects and spaces he could only assume were used for storage, as some were laid wide open with the contents sprawled haphazardly.

He heard a voice breathe a sigh and looked sharply towards it just as the owner of the voice themself turned to face him.

"H-Howl!" said Sally, standing up from her chair and stepping through the balcony door back into the room,

"You're awake."

She approached slowly and knelt beside him.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

"…I'm OK," he replied, and even his telepathic voice sounded strained.

"You don't _**sound**_ OK to me," Sally persisted, noticing this.

He shifted uncomfortably and rubbed his forehead.

"…My head hurts a little…" he admitted finally, "and my body feels… kind of heavy."

He paused.

"But I'm all right," he concluded, "I'm fine… I'm… alive…"

He looked around again.

"Where are we?"

"This is, uh… my room," said Sally, "You blacked out and I had to drag you up here. Can't say I blame you, though. You got stabbed right in the gut. And that fall of yours can't have made things any better…"

"You… You saved me?"

Sally's brow furrowed a little and she shook her head.

"W-Well, no… You saved me first."

"You brought me into your home? …You treated my wound?"

"W-Well, I… _**Technically**_ yes, but-"

"Even though I'm a Pokémon…?"

"Y-…Well… yes."

Howl gazed silently at her for a moment.

"…Thank you," he said, "Sally…" Before she could say anything, the Pokémon raised his right paw and held it to his chest at the very tip of the spike, and bowed his head to her in what she thought looked like some kind of salute.

"Thank you, Sally," said Howl, "I owe you a debt."

"No, you don't. Seriously, you don't owe _**me**_ anything," she insisted, "I didn't know what I was supposed to do! You were bleeding like…"

She shivered.

"I was so scared you might not end up waking up at all," she continued,

"And, honestly? …If it hadn't been for your little friend, I think that might've actually been the case…"

"My… What do you mean?" he asked.

Sally gave a weak smile.

"I think it's fair to say… you've got a visitor," she said, pointing towards the foot of what he now took to be a _**human**_ bed,

"If you owe anybody… it's that little guy."

Howl looked, and then he received a shock so immense it made every fibre of his being seem to jolt.

"What the-?!" he began, but Sally shushed him,

"Shh! _**Please**_ don't be so loud! He only just fell asleep…"

"B-But-!" he stammered.

There, curled up fast asleep in the beige covers of the bed, was Pip.


	12. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven:**_

 _ **Rota Village Retaliates**_

* * *

"What in the-?!" Howl said again, glaring towards Sally, "When did-?!

How did-?!

What is _**he**_ doing _**here**_?!"

She shushed him once more, a little angrily this time, and settled her gaze on Pip for a few moments before finally answering him,

"I dunno. I think he might've followed you.

When I finally managed to get you upstairs, I saw how badly you were hurt - I mean, I'd thought at first it was just a flesh wound, but when I got some light on you, I saw how _**horribly**_ wrong I was about that.

I was scared. I know how to treat minor injuries, but you needed genuine medical attention. But what doctor would treat a Pokémon? I didn't know what to do. I was really starting to panic. So in the end, I just thought I'd have to try and stitch up the wound myself and pad it down as much as I could. I went around gathering the things I'd need for that, and when I came back…"

Her clear-blue eyes moved towards the foot of the bed once again.

"…And when I came back," she continued softly, "…he was in here with you. Right by your side, pressing juice out of this blue, fruity-thing into the wound.

…And it was like nothing I've ever seen before. It was like… like the juice was making the wound heal itself!"

"Oran Berries," said Howl, "They're a native food to our world. And it's just as you say, the juice has some special quality that can heal wounds."

"Are you serious?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"And then what?" he asked stubbornly, determined to know the rest of what had happened.

She blinked and went on,

"R-Right… Then I… Then once I saw the effect that the juice was having, I figured… Well, I figured it'd be safer to treat you with what seemed to be working, even though I didn't know exactly what it was.

I mean… I don't have any experience with treating actual _**wounds**_ like that. So either way was pretty risky, but I just thought I should go for the option that was _**less**_ risky."

She glanced away from him in what looked like shame, as though she thought he might be angered by her actions. But he was not angered in the slightest. In fact, he was rather impressed.

She glanced back at him and said,

"So… was I right?"

"Yes, I believe so," he answered. He leaned forwards and made to lift the covers in order to see his stomach, but Sally put out a hand to stop him.

"I-It's okay now, don't worry," she said swiftly, "It's stopped bleeding, but I cleaned and dressed it anyway just to be on the safe side.

Plus, you might wake…" She nodded towards the third presence in the room.

He looked towards him too, and hesitated briefly before finally nodding and leaning back against the wall.

"He's sweet, isn't he?" said Sally after a few moments, her eyes on Pip.

"Um…" Howl said awkwardly, clueless to how he ought to respond to this.

"I think he was really worried about you," she went on, thankfully relieving him of the need to say anything, "He wouldn't budge one bit and kept on trying to scratch me whenever I got too close. I think he thought I was trying to make you worse instead of help you.

I tried explaining to him what I was trying to do, and unfortunately, that didn't work. Then once you were all patched up, I tried to show him I was a friend by petting him, and that-"

She held up her hand, revealing it to be wrapped tightly in a bandage,

" _ **-really**_ didn't work."

Howl gazed towards Pip in silent wonder. Could that really be true? Had Pip really been so protective?

"I can really tell how much the little guy loves his dad," said Sally.

Puzzled, Howl looked round to see her smiling at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Surely she didn't think what he thought she did…

"Oh!" she exclaimed, seeing the look on his face, "Sorry, is he not… um…"

But before either of them could say another word, there came a noise from beyond the balcony door. They turned their heads towards it at once and fell silent, listening closely.

It was the sound of heavy footsteps drawing steadily closer and closer, and they could hear a great amount of wheezing and panting alongside it. Howl looked at Sally, meaning to ask what this was, but before he could, she stood up and strode through the balcony door and looked out beyond his line of perspective.

"H-Hello?" came an unfamiliar male voice from the ground before the building,

"Y-You, Miss! Are you perhaps… Miss Sally Luna? …O-Of Luna Tavern?"

"Yes!" Sally called downward, "Are you the courier?"

"Y-Yes, Miss!" replied the voice, panting heavily between every few words,

"I-I come with… a response… to your… last letter…!"

"Hang on, I'll be right down!" Sally called, and returned into the room, closing the balcony door behind her.

"Sorry, I have to go get that," she said to him, "I'll be back soon, don't worry."

"Who did you send a letter to?" Howl asked sharply.

She paused and looked at him briefly, hesitating at the point of speech before saying finally, "OK, don't worry about it, but I sent a letter to the nearest available authorities - about the intruders last night!" she added before he could react, "They don't know _**anything**_ about you, so relax. I think I gave them a pretty convincing story. But I suppose I'll find out now if they bought it or not, right?

Sorry, I've gotta go!"

She strode over to the door leading out of her room and glanced back at him over her shoulder.

"All right," he said finally. She nodded and turned the handle.

"Sally?" he said quietly.

"Yeah?"

He paused briefly, then said at last,

"…Thank you. For bringing me into your home. For treating my wound.

…Thank you."

He saw her cheeks flush slightly pink.

"I was happy to do it," she replied. She paused for a moment, her eyes on the sleeping Eevee before smiling in the same warm, kind-hearted way she had done before, and adding,

"…It wouldn't be very good if the Demon of The Forest died," before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Howl leaned forwards and gripped Pip by the scruff of the neck.

"Pip," he said, giving him a firm shake, "wake up."

"Mmm…uhh?" was Pip's response, before his expression shifted drearily into one of great discomfort. Howl tightened his hold and shook him again.

"Pip!" he growled, "Wake up! Now!"

Pip snorted and his eyes were open for only a second before he leapt to his feet and swung his paws in a flurry up at Howl's arm.

"No!" Pip cried out suddenly, "Get off me, get off! Sir?! Sir, please help me! Howl!"

"Hey!" Howl grunted as Pip swiped at his wrist with a full set of claws and then made to run, but still he held on tight.

"No!" Pip cried again, scrabbling desperately at the bedcovers to free himself from the iron grip, "Get off me! LET ME GO!"

"Pip!" Howl snarled, finally taking a full hold on the little one and turning him sharply round, "Snap out of it! It's _**me**_!"

Pip's tail froze in the air and he ceased his struggling in an instant.

"S-…Sir…?" he breathed, slowly raising his head. Howl released him gently and leaned back somewhat.

"Are you done?" he said gruffly.

Pip gaped before retreating a couple of steps and looking him up and down apprehensively.

"Sir…?" he repeated in the same breathless tone, "It… It's really you?"

"Yes…"

"I… I'm not just dreaming?"

Howl perked an ear at him, his brow furrowed slightly.

"No," he said, trying to contain his dawning impatience, "No, you're not dreaming. This is real.

Pip, what are you doing he-"

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Pip burst out, and then he suddenly sprang forwards and flung his front paws around Howl's neck so enthusiastically that Howl choked and almost went tumbling onto his back.

Pip pressed his face into Howl's fur and echoed the word 'alive' again and again, and the Guardian felt his tiny paws tremble on his shoulders.

"Hey…" said Howl, looking awkwardly down at the top of the little one's head, which was the only part visible to him.

"You're alive…" Pip said in a muffled voice, "You're alive, sir…"

"Well… of course I am."

"You're alive… You're okay…"

"Pip-"

"There was _**so much**_ blood…! When you wouldn't wake up, I thought for sure you… you'd…"

Howl's paws had been hovering uncertainly in the air on either side of Pip until then, but at these words, he rested one lightly his back.

"No…" Howl said reassuringly, "No, Pip… of course not. How could I be the Guardian of _**anything**_ if I let myself die so easily?"

"You wouldn't wake up…!" Pip continued to say, as though he hadn't even heard him, "If you died… h-how was I gonna find my way back?"

"Sally would have taken you back. I know she would have."

"S-Sally? What's… What's a Sally?" Pip asked, finally extracting his face and looking up through glistening eyes.

"I'll tell you, I promise, but first I want you answer some questions of mine," Howl replied, smiling in the hopes of helping Pip to be more at ease,

"That won't be a problem, will it?"

"But…" Pip started, with clear reluctance, but after a moment he finally conceded, giving a little nod and mumble.

"Good," Howl said, lifting his paw from Pip's back, "Now come on, you, get off. _**Off**_."

Pip gave a silent, barely-audible gasp, then he positioned his hind legs on Howl's chest-spike and pushed himself away, landing with a soft thud on the bedcovers.

"Now, Pip…" Howl began once they were both settled, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you back in The Forest?"

Pip shifted his feet on the spot and his eyes darted to left and right.

"I… I didn't mean to…" he began apprehensively, "Please, sir… Please don't be angry…"

Howl remained silent, and when Pip stole a glance up at him, he indicated for him to continue speaking.

Pip gulped.

"I… I was following you."

"Why were you following me?" Howl asked at once, his voice completely calm.

"I… I wanted to talk to you, sir."

"Why?"

"It…" Pip shook his head, "…doesn't matter. It was stupid."

"I don't care if it was stupid or not, Pip, just tell me why."

Silence from the little Pokémon, then he muttered,

"I… I couldn't sleep. …I… I had this dream."

"Not a good one, I take it?"

"Mm-mm." Pip shook his head.

"So you couldn't sleep afterwards… and wanted to talk to me about this dream?" Howl ventured.

"Yeah…" Pip nodded, "But I was so stupid…! I shouldn't have left my hiding place, I know I shouldn't have! 'Cause once I'd gone pretty far, I couldn't find my way back. I just wandered around in circles for ages. I couldn't see where I was going and kept on walking into stuff. And one time I tripped over somebody who was sleeping and they got really mad and chased me away!

I ran away. And I kept on running 'til I bumped into somebody else. Then they got angry too, and I ran away from them. It was like I was running from the whole forest, and I only stopped when I was too tired to run anymore…

Then I… Then I heard somebody moving around. I could hear their footsteps, and I thought 'cause they were awake, I could ask them for help."

" _ **Help**_?" Howl repeated blankly.

"I was lost," Pip mumbled, "I didn't want to call out, but I couldn't go very fast either, so I thought if I followed them… they'd eventually stop and I could ask them then."

"And this 'someone' you followed… was me?"

"I didn't know it was you!" Pip blurted out desperately, "Please, sir, I swear! I didn't know! I didn't even know we weren't in The Forest 'til it started raining on us!

I couldn't see you, I couldn't see anything! I could only hear you moving, a-and-! Please, sir, you have to believe me!"

"All right!" Howl said loudly, quelling the panic Pip was undergoing,

"All right, Pip, enough. I _**do**_ believe you. Calm down…"

"Y-You do?"

"Of course. You're not a liar."

"But… aren't you angry?"

"No."

"But I- But I left The Forest! I-I-"

"It was an accident, it's fine. And after all… you _**did**_ save my life. I'm _**not**_ angry. I'm just glad you're safe."

They fell silent for a minute, Pip apparently collecting himself again and Howl determining what he should do next.

Pip had answered his question, and now it was time for him to do the same. The only thing concerning him was what he could and couldn't tell him. Howl was more than capable of keeping secrets if he needed to, and he was by no means a bad liar, but it was neither a skill he appreciated or chose to use.

He'd considered in the back of his mind what he might say when Pip awoke, and now he'd decided that it wouldn't be right to conceal the truth from him. Pip had told him the truth, so he would tell it to him in turn.

"All right," Howl said at last, his eyes moving around the human home, " I guess I owe you an explanation now, don't I? Go ahead, ask me your questions."

"Really…?" Pip breathed, looking up hesitantly.

"Really," Howl avowed, "Go on. Anything you want to know. Nothing held back."

"O-Okay…

What - No, who…

Who or what is Sally, sir?"

Howl looked towards the door through which Sally herself had left by, and thought on how best to phrase his answer.

"Sally…" he said at last, "…is a human. The very same human you… met last night."

"You…! S-Sir, you _**know**_ that monster?!"

Pip both looked and sounded horrified.

"It tried to kill you, sir! It-"

"No! No, no, no. _**She**_ didn't. She wasn't trying to kill me. She was trying to do exactly what you ended up doing for her. She was trying to save me, Pip.

I'm not really sure how to say this, but… Sally is different from the humans in the village, and the ones who keep invading The Forest.

She's… a _**good**_ human."

"Wha…" Pip backed away, staring at Howl as though he were seeing him clearly for the very first time.

"But…! It's a…! Sir, are you crazy?!"

"As a matter of fact, no. I'm not. Don't you believe me? Shouldn't I be the one who hates humans more out of the two of us?"

"Urgh…" Pip groaned, shaking his head, looking up at him in incredulously,

"Sir, you… you can't be serious!"

"I'll take that as a 'no', then," Howl replied irritably, "I'm telling the truth, Pip. The proof is already there! If she'd wanted to, she could have killed us both with ease when I was unconscious and you were asleep. If she were like the others, she would have done it without a second thought. So why didn't she?"

"I-It…! M-Maybe…!"

There was a knock, and Sally herself came in, carrying a large wooden tray.

"Sorry that took so long," she said, closing the door behind her, "You won't believe how far that poor guy had to run to get here. Some people are really committed to their-" She stopped in midsentence, and her eyes widened on a space close to Howl's middle.

"Oh!" she said, "You're awake too, huh?"

Howl followed her gaze and saw that Pip had retreated behind him, and was peering out with his ears drooped and his expression cautious, following her every move.

"So what's your name?" she asked, smiling.

Pip blinked at her.

"You from The Forest?" she enquired, apparently undaunted.

Pip's ears twitched and he blinked again.

She smirked. "Heh. Tight-lipped sort, are ya? Ah, how I wish my customers were more like that…"

Silence.

"Wow, seriously, nothing?"

"He doesn't understand," Howl put in.

"Yeah, I figured that out," she replied, laying the tray by his legs, in-between the two Pokémon,

"Here. I hope this'll suffice for you both. I'm not really sure what's edible for you, so don't feel you have to be polite and eat it all."

"And so my debt to you grows," said Howl, taking a bite-sized slice of fruit from a bowl and sniffing at it.

"Nah, I'd say we're even with what you did to last night's guests," she said, waving her hand airily.

"Who were those men? Why were they breaking into your home?"

"Just some total strangers, I dunno. They were probably after the goods, thinking they could get them free of charge."

"Really?" said Howl casually as he helped himself to more fruit, "I was sure I heard one of them mention a boy accompanied by a hooded figure. I don't suppose they meant…"

"No. They were asking about somebody else.

…Look, it doesn't matter why they broke in. They're not going anywhere 'til the guards come here for them. They were a problem, but they're not anymore, thanks to you."

He ate another slice and then another before giving a mild shrug of the shoulders and saying, "Well, if you say so. Where are they now?"

Suddenly there came a series of rolling thuds from deep below so loud that all three of them gave their own individual starts of alarm.

"Ugh! What?! WHAT?!" Sally bellowed down into the floor, "You twits have got all the drinks you could ever wish for down there! Quit your complaining! You are really starting to get on my nerves, and I still owe you _**big**_ for what you-"

But then they heard a voice from beyond the front door,

"Sally?!" it shouted, "Sally! Open the door! You have to open this door RIGHT NOW! Sally, ANSWER ME!"

"What in-?" Sally gawked, before springing up, flinging open the balcony door and staring down towards the front door.

"Who's there?" he heard her say, before she answered her own question a moment afterwards,

"Wha-?

Rowan?"

"Sally!" the voice replied, sounding considerably clearer through the open balcony door, "You're all right!? You're not hurt?"

"N-No? Rowan, what-"

"Sally, you've got to open this door _**quickly**_! Please!"

"A-Ah," Sally stammered at the point of speech before hurrying back through the room and to the door leading downstairs, but before she left the two Pokémon to themselves, she glanced back at them over her shoulder, her expression full of worry and confusion before telling them in a single breath, "You stay right here, okay?" Then without waiting for a response, she tore out of their sight, her feet pattering across the wooden floor.

"I'll be back!" her voice echoed.

Howl made to swing his legs round and follow her, but as soon as he'd so much as leaned sideways, he felt pain speed through his body and burn all the way through his middle.

"Sir?" Pip inquired when he jolted stock-still in the motion of getting to his feet. Howl managed to repress a grunt and inclined his body back to its original position. He closed his eyes and watched Sally - enveloped in the glow of her Aura - descending the second floor and heading towards the Aura of bright-blue, but then he noticed a strange occurrence within the blue Aura. It was unsettled and anxious, with its waves pulsing so swiftly and powerfully he could barely see them form. But he did see them, and the emotion he saw was unmistakable:

 _ **Panic.**_

But why?

The front door opened, and beyond the balcony door he heard the voices of the two humans conversing.

"Sally! Are you OK?!"

"Y-Yeah, Rowan, why wouldn't I-"

"Oh my-" Rowan cut across her, "Y-Your nose! What did they do to y-?!

No, never mind! Tell me later! We have to get out of here _**right**_ _**now**_!"

"What? Why? Rowan, what's the matter with you?"

"There're people on their way here, Sally! Villagers! I've never seen so many people like this! They-"

At these words, Howl turned his Aura Senses away from the two below and scoured the distance for anything conspicuous, straining both his Aura Sight and Senses until he located a presence nearing where he knew the crossroads to be. But it was not just one Aura he could sense in the distance, it was multiple, perhaps even dozens.

Rowan's voice continued,

"They were all in on this! Those men who came into the tavern last night - they were all part of something bigger! Rota Village - I dunno why - but they think you're some kind of villain! The village elder sent people here last night and apparently told them that if they weren't back by dawn, they could expect some kind of vigilante group to come to their rescue! I don't know why they'd send a group, but they did! I saw a whole bunch of people preparing this morning - they're on their way here now!"

"And from what I can tell, it looks like almost the entire village has volunteered," Howl growled to them both, switching to telepathic speech.

Rowan's alarm sounded clearly all through the room.

"What the-?!" he yelped, "Who-?! What-?!"

"Rowan," Sally's voice said at once, "it's a bit complicated, but Howl's here too. I'll explain later. How long do we have until the villagers get here?"

"Wh-What? _**Howl**_? Why?"

"Rowan!"

"I-I don't-"

"Not a lot of time," Howl told them, moving his legs carefully out from under the blankets and getting unsteadily to his feet, "They're just passing the point where the road forks. Rowan is right: we have to move. Both of you, hurry and gather everything you need - food, supplies - everything! And be quick about it!"

"Hey," Rowan began incredulously, "hold on! How come you're telling us what-"

But then the Guardian saw the golden Aura extend an arm and pull the blue into the building.

"Come on, do as he says! Don't argue!"

He opened his eyes and gave his weak legs a moment to adapt before propelling himself forwards and calling over his shoulder, "Pip, come! We have to go!" racing along the corridor and turning right down the stairs.

He burst into the main room and saw Sally and Rowan cramming objects seemingly at random into two separate bags, and when they looked up at him, Sally said, "Here!" and threw a set of keys across the room, "Lock up all the doors and windows! If they think I'm still here, that might buy us time!"

"But then-? How will we-?"

"We'll be leaving out the side door. It's sort of, like, my emergency exit."

"Ah," he replied, darting across to the front door and locking it first before moving back and forth across the tavern and repeating the process with window after window.

In a matter of minutes, all the doors and windows were shut and the main room had darkened considerably, and then once they were finally re-assembled (for Rowan had insisted that Sally take a moment put on daytime clothing before leaving) they hastened into the private room Howl and Rowan had eaten in.

"The villagers must be getting close by now…" said Rowan, with an uneasy glance towards the window.

"Yeah," Sally agreed, "We've got everything, so we should get out now before we see for ourselves how close they've gotten. Rowan, you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Howl?"

But there was no response.

"Howl?" she repeated, turning to him. Again he did not reply. His eyes were wide and scouring the floor around their feet. Then, with nary a glance up in their direction, he darted into the main room and she heard him hurrying back up the stairs.

Before she could even react, another sound carried to her ears. The sound of heavy footfalls nearing the outskirts of the tavern. Rowan, unaware of what had happened, made to unlock the side door, but just as he was about to drag the bolt back, she hissed, "No!" and pulled him away, "We can't! Not without him!"

" _ **What**_?" he replied, before realising what she meant and saying, "What is he doing?! Where did he go?!"

Sally's answer was never spoken, for then they both heard a sound that drew their attention away from everything else. A knock on the front door, and a voice calling for the tavern's owner.

They froze on the spot, individually looking towards the side door and then along the main room to the front.

" _ **Sally**_ …!" Rowan urged, taking hold of her arm and trying to pull her towards the side door, but she broke free and snapped, "We are _**not**_ leaving him behind!"

"We can't wait either!"

Then they heard the voice outside issue instructions and then a crash upon the front door made them wrench their eyes away from their escape route.

"Are they-?!" Rowan started to say, but then there was another crash, and this time they saw the front door give a violent tremble. The villagers were trying to force their way through! They would be inside the building at any moment, and through the panic that was enveloping her, Sally turned her eyes to Rowan, to the side door, and then made up her mind as there was a sound of wood breaking into splinters.

"Sally!" Rowan called after her as she darted for the front door. The villagers had already managed to damage - if not dislodge the lock, so it was only a matter of time before the door gave way as well.

"Just shut up and help me!" she retorted to him, and began to pull one of the tables along the floor. Rowan gave her a look of great distress and then hurried to her aid. Together they pushed the table up against the door and then set about gathering everything they could to pile on top of it, but they had barely placed so much as a third chair on its surface before the loudest crash so far made the door break away from the wall at last and begin to drive the table back. Rowan and Sally gave yells of panic and then hurried round to the opposite end and tried to heave it shut, throwing all their weight down and pushing as hard as they could. Then there was a voice from outside and then more - even more force was piled against them.

" _ **Noo**_ …!" Rowan moaned as the door shifted towards them. Sally's pulse was speeding and her palms were sweating so profusely she could barely hold them in place to push. She could feel herself and Rowan being driven slowly backwards, and knew there was nothing they could do to stop it! Then she heard footsteps far across the room, and she'd not a moment to register them when there was a rush in the air, a blur of blue fur and then Howl was in-between them both and forcing the door back. With a vicious growl, he gave the door one great heave and it was almost slammed back into place.

"Now!" the deep voice snarled in her mind, sounding more wild and ferocious than she would have ever thought possible,

"Barricades! NOW!"

Sally and Rowan hurried to heave the table back into place, weighing it down with anything and everything they could before the Pokémon ducked underneath it and assisted them in forcing it against the villagers' assault.

They backed away, the two humans exhausted and shaking, and then she turned towards the Pokémon, intending to express thanks, and then she saw with mild surprise that the little one was with him, clinging tight onto his shoulder and staring, like his carrier, at the trembling pile of tables and chairs.

"So…" Sally gasped, "D'you… reckon you can handle all them?"

"Only if you think you can explain to your authorities why an entire village-full of people is unconscious outside your tavern," he growled, glaring at her with one fiery eye.

"OK then, smart guy, _**you**_ think of something!"

His gaze shifted as there was another sequence of loud thuds, and Sally cried in anguish,

"Come on, Demon! Think of something!"

* * *

 _This chapter was a little rushed towards the end, but I think I've managed to at least write it decently. If you saw any grammatical errors or literally unfinished sentences, please let me know either with a PM or review and I'll correct it right away._ _Sorry about that!_

 _The next chapter is already being worked on, and should be posted a little quicker this time. Hope you enjoy._


	13. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve:**_

 _ **The Only Solution**_

* * *

The door continued to tremble and quake, Sally continued to pant and Howl continued to stare with no response.

"Wh-What did you say?"

It was Rowan who had spoken, and he was staring at Sally in total incomprehension,

"Sally? What did you jus-"

There came a sequence of muffled roars from the villagers' side, and then the most powerful crash of all knocked the table and chairs to the floor.

Sally and Rowan recoiled, for the door was beginning to open, sliding the table slowly out of the way, and they had a fleeting glance of someone trying to slip past his companions and into the building when there was rushing noise from somewhere, and Sally glimpsed Howl's paw enveloped in a mysterious light before the Pokémon himself sped forwards, leapt over the obstacles and thrust his paw into the wall directly in the lone intruder's path. There was a cry from out of sight, and then the arm was withdrawn through the gap behind the door. Howl snarled and threw his whole weight against the door and drove it back into place again, causing roars of rage from the villagers-end. Sally made to step over the fallen table and help him, but he thrust out his paw and growled with his fangs bared,

"Stay back!"

"But-!" she began, but then the door shifted and Howl was forced off-balance only to immediately regain his position and shut it once again.

"Are they outside the side door too?" he asked, "Have they got us surrounded?"

"No," she replied. He looked round at them and flicked his gaze from one to the other briefly.

"All right," he said, "You two go. I'll handle this."

"What?!" Rowan burst out, advancing a step towards him.

"You can't expect us to do that!" Sally implored, moving forward like Rowan, but then a deep growl reverberated from Howl's throat and he glared at them with such force that they retreated.

"You _**must**_ and you _**will**_!" he commanded, "I owe these humans a _**lot**_ , and I intend to pay good on the debt I owe! Head for the crossroads and I'll meet you there as fast as I can!"

"You'll be killed!" Rowan persisted, "We can't just leave you-"

"But you WILL! Now, GO!"

Sally felt her legs begin to tremble, and she took an involuntary step backwards, but recovered her wits and stood her ground.

Howl looked directly at her, his eyes boring into hers - red into blue - and when she heard his voice, she knew somehow only she was the one who could.

"You know who I am. You know I won't go down easily. You'll just get in my way if you stay here. So please… _**go**_!"

"O-Oh…OK!" she conceded finally, taking hold of Rowan's arm, "OK! We'll go!"

Ignoring Rowan's protests, she made to steer him away, but just before she turned her back, Howl reached up to his shoulder and lifted the smaller Pokémon off, then he held the little one out before him and spoke in words unfamiliar to her. The little one's ears went rigid all of a sudden and he stole a moment's glance towards her and Rowan before flailing his legs about in the air and trying to grip onto Howl's shoulder again. Howl looked up at Sally with a meaningful expression and she rushed forwards and took the little one from him.

"Look after him!" he called as she took hold of Rowan and hurried across the room, "I'll be right behind you! Do _**not**_ let him go!"

Sally struggled in the effort of simultaneously searching for the right key and holding onto the smaller Pokémon, who was scratching, writhing and kicking his little legs out to try and free himself from her grasp. She held him firmly around the middle and managed to finally open the door as there came another crash from the main room. Then a roar and what sounded like a blast almost drew her eyes back, but she took hold of Rowan's arm and darted out into the prairie. They turned left and steered gradually away from the walls whilst heading for the path leading back towards the crossroads, and all the while they could hear cries, heavy footfalls, thuds, and every few seconds a snarl would resound through the air and then devastation would follow at the sound of another mighty crash.

"I can't believe we're doing this," said Rowan's voice. Sally turned and saw him gazing hesitantly back at the tavern, and then he began to slow to halt.

"Come on!" she urged, pulling on his wrist, "We'll just get in the way! He wants us to go!"

"There's no way he'll survive! He needs our help! We can still help him now!"

She'd been about to respond, but then the little Pokémon suddenly swiped hard at her face and tried to scramble over her shoulder, but she seized his hind legs and pulled him back down. Then came a voice from the tavern, and when she looked, she saw that there were no more than four villagers directly outside the main entrance calling and pointing at them. No sooner had she seen them when something - another villager - came hurtling out from the building and knocked into the man in the middle, sending him straight to the ground, and before those remaining could do any more than yell, Howl himself leapt out through the open doorway and crashed into another of the villagers, knocking them head-over-heels.

"You see?" she said, pulling on Rowan's arm, "He's fine! Now come!"

And they ran.

Away from the chaos;

away from the villagers;

away from Luna Tavern.

They had been moving non-stop for almost five entire minutes when Rowan began to falter behind her, and Sally had no strength left to pull him in her wake, and eventually they were walking alongside each other, gasping and clutching at their sides.

"How much… farther?" Rowan asked, his voice unsteady.

"Not sure," she replied, in the same condition, "I was… going to ask _**you**_ that…! You walked this path only two days ago!"

"Yeah, well, I… wasn't exactly timing in my head… how long it took!" he retorted.

Sally felt a sharp sting and arched forward, her teeth clenched and her eyes watering.

"You okay?" Rowan asked, stopping and turning back.

" _ **No**_!" she snapped, "No, I am not! This little _**punk**_ won't stop - Gah!"

Sally was unable to finish her sentence, because at that moment the little Pokémon had sank his claws into her skin and tried to push himself free, burrowing them even deeper as he did so.

"Need a hand?" Rowan asked, approaching and taking a firm hold around Pip's middle, "It's okay, I don't mind. You just have to be rea- AGH!"

Pip had swung his hind claws up and dragged them down across Rowan's arm, and if Sally hadn't been ready to catch him, Pip would have tumbled to the ground and no doubt sped away from them in the blink of an eye.

"ENOUGH!" Sally bellowed, gripping all four of the little Pokémon's legs, cramming them into one fist and tucking her arm under his back to support him. The Pokémon yelped and tried to tug his legs free, but she held on tight.

" _ **Enough**_!" she repeated, "Stop! _**Please**_!"

The three of them froze, all panting and staring at one another, Rowan at Sally and she at Pip, who's gaze shifted from one to the other.

"Please…! Just… _**stop**_ being such a pain!" she continued, "I am not going to hurt you! No-one is gonna hurt you! We're trying to get you home!"

There were no indications of understanding on the little Pokémon's face, for all that his eyes were wide and now fixed inertly on her. She tried to bring her thoughts together and focus on some way she could calm him. Then an idea came to her, and she said, very slowly,

" _ **Howl**_ …"

The long, brown ears twitched, and he blinked up at her.

" _ **Howl**_ … wanted _**us**_ -" She pointed to her and Rowan, "to take _**you**_ -" then gave his legs a gentle shake.

" _ **Howl**_ wanted _**us**_ to take _**you**_ ," she said again, repeating all her gestures alongside the message.

Pip's mouth opened slightly, and his gaze remained fixed on her as she spoke.

"Do you… want me to let go?"

No response.

She squeezed his legs held in her hand and looked pointedly from his face to his legs, and repeated the question.

"Sally," Rowan began, as if he were about to tell her that the little Pokémon didn't realise what she meant, or that they didn't have time to delay.

But her sudden gasp cut him off before he could say anything.

As he had spoken, the Eevee had met Sally's gaze, and responded to her with a quiet 'yip' sound and a slow, deliberate nod.

"Rowan!" she cried, "Did you see that?! He understood me! He-"

There was a noise along the path ahead.

They turned their heads sharply towards it, and saw something heading swiftly towards them.

"What's that?" said Rowan, though there wasn't time for them to wonder. A hiss and swish reached their ears and then a distressed cry from what was unmistakeably a Pokémon followed immediately after.

"Oh no," Sally breathed, "Not _**now**_!"

"What?" asked Rowan, but she shook her head. "I'll explain later, okay?" And she swung her backpack round from her shoulders and fumbled with the straps before holding tightly onto the scruff of Pip's neck and pushing him inside it.

"Umm. Sally?"

Rowan gaped, but she took hold and steered him along to the side of the path, thinking their options through carefully.

They couldn't risk running, for that would raise suspicion, and if they could see their quarry out in the open, then it was almost certain that their quarry had seen them too.

"All right. Rowan, just follow my lead and act casual. But not _**too**_ causal."

"Sally-"

"Just make them think we're nobody! Act normal!"

She felt the creature in her backpack writhe and lash out, kicking out little lumps in every direction, and frightened noises came from within it, but she hugged her arms tightly around it and made soothing, gentle noises.

"Shh… It's okay. Shh. Please be quiet now… Quiet…"

The sound of hooves trotting and wheels clattering became louder and louder, and Sally slung the backpack over one shoulder in an attempt to angle it out of sight.

Eventually they drew level and she glanced sideways as they passed.

The wagon was smaller than she'd been expecting, as though it hadn't been built for the purpose it was here for. But as she saw who was seated inside it, she went pale. She couldn't know that, of course, but she knew she felt faint, and resolutely turned her eyes away.

They had only gone a few steps apart when a booming male voice suddenly called from behind them,

"You there! Halt!"

They froze in their tracks, and Sally drew a deep breath to try and calm the uncontrollable racing of her heartbeats.

"What do we do?" Rowan whispered, but before she could respond, the voice bellowed,

"You! Young sir and miss! Wait!"

She exhaled sharply and responded, "We've got no choice. We'll just have to be quick."

-then they turned and walked reluctantly back along the path as a man clad in light armour leapt to the ground and hurried towards them.

As he approached, she noticed there was a blade at his side and the handle of _**something**_ sticking out above his shoulder. He was armed.

"Y-Yes?" she stammered, before collecting herself and adopting the modest, polite manner she took when addressing one of her customers, "Yes, how can I help you, sir?"

The guard halted before them.

"Sorry to bother you, but I fear we may be on the wrong track," he said, "We're looking for a tavern that should be somewhere around here, by the name of Luna Tavern. Perhaps you've heard of it? We're informed that it's close to the village, but this path seems to merely go on and on."

"Oh," she replied at once, "Yes, yes, I'm afraid it's a bit out of the way, almost impossible to find first time. No, you see, the way you're heading along now is actually towards our family cottage. We can't seem to get through one week without some poor fool knocking on our door and asking if they're at the right place.

OK, the tavern you're looking for is… along that way," she said, pointing sideways along a small path that she'd just so happened to notice,

"That path will take you there eventually. It's quite a trip, but with that wagon of yours, you ought to be there in no time."

She looked back at the guard, satisfied with her answer and expecting thanks for her guidance. But what she saw instead was that the guard had barely looked away from her. And before she could say anything, he pushed up his visor and stared probingly.

"Um…" she said, "Is… something wrong?"

"How did you get that mark, Miss?" he queried.

"W-What mark?"

"There. On your cheek. And your nose too, Miss!... Has someone been treating you roughly?"

As he spoke, his eyes flicked towards Rowan.

"No," she replied blandly.

"Are you sure?" he persisted.

"Yes, quite sure. Sorry, but if there's nothing more to discuss, we really need to be-"

"Where are you two going, may I ask?"

"To the village. We're meeting somebody."

"Who are you meeting?"

"Family," Rowan cut in, realising Sally's increasing anxiety, "And they don't like to be kept waiting! So if you don't mind, we'll be on our way now-"

"Is that perhaps why you're both sweating like you've run a marathon?" said the guard, with another glance at Rowan.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Excuse you," said Sally, "So, you just keep on following that path 'til you see the tavern, okay? Okay. Good luck." And with that, she and Rowan turned and walked away as quickly as they could without actually running.

"Don't look back," Sally muttered under her breath.

"Don't look back.

Don't look ba-"

"Stop!" the guard called suddenly.

It was an order, not a request, and to run from that would be madness. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth before shaping her expression into one of complete indignation and turning to face the guard.

"What is it?" she said.

The guard approached them at a slow pace and said, with a contemptuous glare at Sally, "What are you carrying in your bag, young miss?"

Sally felt her insides give a horrible plummet.

"What was that?" she managed to reply.

"You heard me. What's in the bag?"

"Never you mind!" she blazed, advancing a bold step closer, "You delay us in our journey, ask us for help, and then start grilling us?! What is your deal?! Come on!" She made to take Rowan by the arm and move onward, but the guard grabbed her firmly by the shoulder.

"If you're merely visiting family, why would you both need full bags, hmm?"

She couldn't respond. She was quivering with fear and genuine anger.

Then, with no warning, she felt the contents of her backpack shift and clatter, and heard an unmistakeable squeal from within it.

She reacted instinctively; whirling around in the blink of an eye and driving her fist as hard as she could into the guard's unprotected nose. He staggered backwards and then Rowan suddenly charged forwards and thrust his foot into the guard's stomach, knocking him hard onto his backside. Sally and Rowan's eyes met in a flash and spontaneously they agreed and sprinted away along the path.

"YOU, STOP!" they heard from behind them. But they didn't stop. Instead they ran flat-out, and then they heard that hiss and swish through the air again and then the sound of heavy wooden wheels turning and advancing after them. Sally realised what was happening, and through the terror that was coursing up her spine, she swung her backpack into her arms a second time and made to unfasten the top, but her fingers had barely touched the straps when Rowan suddenly leapt sideways and knocked her out of the way as the wagon sped forwards at the exact place they had been a second before.

The wheels skidded and dragged along the earth and the two Pokémon pulling the vehicle gave cries as their chains were wrenched back. Then there came the sound of people disembarking.

Dizzy and breathless on her side, Sally unfastened the bag at last and pulled the little creature out.

"Go!" she cried, holding him before her around the middle,

"Run! Get away from here! Get back to The Forest - RUN!"

Then she half-pushed, half-threw him away and he landed with a roll to the ground. The little Pokémon looked up at her with his brown eyes wide and his long ears rigid, and she made desperate motions with her hand to try and shoo him away! To tell him to run!

The little Pokémon looked up past her as heavy footsteps came closer and closer, then he looked from Sally, to Rowan, and past them both again before turning his head back in the direction they had come and scampering away.

"NO!" Sally shouted, "Not that way! Come back!"

She scrambled to her feet and ran after him just as she saw the first guard who had been knocked down skid to a halt as Pip shot past him. And what Sally saw as she ran towards them both made her heart seem to fail.

The object she had noticed before on the first guard's back was a large, menacing crossbow, which he then reached up to and pulled down, taking careful aim at the tiny infant Pokémon as he ran.

"STOP!" Sally cried, lunging forwards, grabbing the guard's arms and pushing them away at the exact moment that a bolt was fired from it.

The man grunted and swung his arm back, making her stagger under his strength, but still she clung on tight until out the corner of her eye she caught a fleeting glimpse of a metal-coated hand before white-hot pain surged across her face and she fell down hard.

"Little WENCH!" he spat, turning his gaze away and drawing a second bolt from his belt. Sally gripped the grass in her fists and struggled upright just as the man was loading his shot and propelled herself forwards again, tackling him down to the ground.

Together they wrestled, each trying to pin the other's limbs down whilst Sally managed to angle in strikes whenever she could, knowing that at least some of her blows were definitely connecting, but that they were barely inflicting any harm at all. She may be desperate and have less restricted movement than her opponent, but he was a trained soldier with genuine combat experience, and suddenly she felt a hand seize her by the throat and pull her to her feet.

"So…" he hissed, "You weren't transporting just any illegal cargo… but a little pet beast."

"Look who's so smart…!" she choked. The guard spat and threw her back to the ground, and before she could even sit up, the tip of his blade was pointed into her chin.

"By attempting to conceal and train a monster as your own from the law, citizen, you have made yourself out to be a possible black market merchant or even a potential bandit!

This has been a matter well-instructed by the law, and the sentence for defying it has been made even clearer.

…Do you remember what that sentence is, citizen?"

Sally glared without response.

The guard leered.

"Think your next move through carefully, young lady… This is your one chance to tell me it was all your companion's idea, and that you were only dragged into it, powerless to resist." She felt the tip of the blade pushed ever so slightly deeper into her flesh.

"I'll say no such thing!" she spat, smacking the weapon aside.

"So you don't deny committing this crime?"

Footsteps approached, and then the four other guards were beside them, two of whom holding fast onto Rowan's arms.

From the looks of it, Rowan had tried to fight back - and lost quite spectacularly. Not one of the guards seemed to be even winded, and Rowan's face was marked and bleeding.

"No," Sally answered, her eyes on her friend, "I don't deny it."

The first guard tutted, making her insides boil.

"Very well. Bind her, they'll fit in the wagon without taking any needed space. You are both under arrest for harbouring monsters!"

"No, wait!" Sally cried as she was pulled upright and felt her arms tugged out behind her,

"Wait! My… My brother had nothing to do with this! _**I'm**_ the one who dragged _**him**_ into it! He's innocent-"

"What?!" Rowan cut across her, "Sally, no! What are you doing?!"

"Quiet, boy!" one of the guard's snarled, striking Rowan hard in the stomach.

"Stop it!" she shouted, "Please, don't hurt him! Just let him go!"

" _ **Sally**_ …?" the voice of the first guard murmured.

Sally sensed him draw closer to her, and kept her eyes fixed determinedly elsewhere.

"Your name is Sally…? _**Our**_ Sally? Of Luna Taver-"

A patter from the ground nearby intercepted his words. Everyone - Rowan and Sally included - turned their eyes down towards it, and for a moment Sally felt something small brush against her ankles before the pattering sounds rushed in-between the mass of legs. The two guards holding Rowan gave cries of alarm and panic, and then the pattering came to an abrupt halt right beyond where they stood. The guards scattered away from it, dragging their captives in their wake, and as she saw what it was that had been making those pattering noises, Sally felt a rush of cold despair.

The little Pokémon had returned; his long ears arched forwards, his body crouched as though preparing to leap, his bushy tail swerving from left to right and his eyes scowling towards the first guard, now standing alone in the middle of the path.

Then there came more pattering sounds - though of less rapidity than those before and considerably louder and heavier. And before the first guard had time to turn around, there came a snarl from behind him and he was struck hard in the spine by something, making him lurch upright, his body rigid, and then a large, charcoal-black paw bearing a pointed spike grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground with merciless force.

Howl stood and turned, his eyes blazing like fire before he said to Sally,

"Mind your head," and then suddenly ran at her and drew his right paw back, ready to strike. She ducked just in time as the guard holding her received a mighty blow to the face, and Howl grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away as the guard fell back, clutching his broken, bleeding nose - and before he'd even hit the ground, Howl had gripped the front of his armour and hurled him straight at those who still held onto Rowan. They scattered to avoid him, and when there remained only one who still held uncertainly on, Howl sped forwards, knocked him to the ground and pulled Rowan free as well.

The remaining two guards closed in, drawing their weapons as the third who had been holding Rowan and the fourth holding Sally struggled to their feet too, but the Pokémon thrust out his paw and created an orb of mysterious blue light to hold them all at bay.

Slowly, Howl backed away, with one paw holding the sphere before him whilst moving Rowan back with the other. Sally hastened to his side, and he said, without taking his eyes off the guards,

"Keep moving. I'll meet you both by the crossroads as planned. Go! Now!"

"We're not going anywhere!" Sally replied at once, "We'll be ten times safer with you."

"I agree!" Rowan added. Howl glanced back at them as if to answer, but then one of the guards suddenly ran at them, his sword held high.

"-Howl-!"

"-Watch ou-!" they cried.

-Or began to, for the Pokémon realised what was happening as soon as they did and sprang forward, seized hold of the guard's wrist before he could bring his weapon down and ducked around him, pulling his sword-arm with him as he did so and aiming a kick at the guard behind him.

His foot connected well: striking his opponent directly in his exposed abdomen, making him give a hoarse wheeze and keel over. Howl seized the chance and raised the sphere in his paw, aimed it over the man's back and sent it soaring through the air, exploding into the guards who had only just regained their balance. Then in a heartbeat, the Pokémon grabbed the man behind him with both arms and hurled him overhead into the one bent-double before him. Barely a second had passed for Sally and Rowan to comprehend any of what had happened before Howl brought his fist down into the opponents at his feet, knocking them both unconscious with the single strike alone.

The Pokémon turned his flaming eyes back to them, and had only begun his response:

"This is not-"

When his eyes widened and he barged through them, sending them tumbling in opposite directions.

Sally heard the hiss of a blade slicing through the air and lifted her head off the ground to see the first guard swinging his weapon in a flurry at the Pokémon, left, right, left, thrust, and not once did the blade find its mark.

Then with a roar that vented rage and purest loathing, the guard leapt forward and the Pokémon responded: grabbing the front of his armour and catching his sword-arm before it fell, and then Howl rolled down onto his back and thrust his feet into the guard's stomach, sending him flying in a summersault and landing some strides away.

Sally and Rowan got unsteadily to their feet as the Pokémon leapt up as well.

Heavy footfalls reached her ears and Sally saw the two remaining guards charging towards their protector only for him to turn and unleash a barrage of attacks almost too quick to register; driving his arms out in grasps and strikes, dodging the guards as they tried to retaliate, and swinging his legs around in wide sweeps - and not once did Sally see a blade so much as brush against him!

Then at last, the Pokémon ducked under a sword as it sliced through the air above his ears and swept out the legs of the guard before him, making them fall onto their back, then he whirled round and drove his paws into the stomach of his second opponent, causing a sudden burst of light to erupt from his open palms and send them flying as if fired from a catapult.

As if he were without fatigue, and as though had known his strategy all along, Howl suddenly back-flipped on top of the leg-swept guard before they could recover their footing and raised an arm high above their head.

Sally shut her eyes tight as she heard the blow connect.

A grunt and wheeze made her open them again, however.

From what she could tell, four out of five guards had reached their limit; their bodies scattered across the pathway and one lay well away from his companions in the vast stretch of green grass. But there was still one who remained struggling to fight. He seemed unable to stand up, but continued to drag himself along the ground towards the crossbow which lay forgotten close by.

"I wouldn't do that," said a voice inside their heads.

Howl strode in front of the guard and snatched the weapon off the ground just as they had begun to extend their arm towards it.

"You wretched beast…!" said the guard, whose voice Sally recognised as the one who had struck her, "You disgusting, inferior-"

"Call me whatever you want. It's not going to change anything," Howl said shortly, his tone quite calm for all the danger within it, "Look around you, human. Your allies are finished, and you're barely conscious yourself. I'm going to offer you the choice. Let us move on without trouble, and I will have no reason to humiliate you any farther. Persist, and I won't think twice about beating you down as well.

Up to you."

An intense silence reigned.

Then Sally heard the guard's unsteady breaths and saw his elbows tremble violently as he struggled to push himself up, muttering and hissing all the while.

He had only just regained his balance when there was a snap of splintering wood as Howl placed both paws on the guard's fallen weapon and steadily broke it apart. Wrenching the bow off the mount, snapping the mount in two, and letting the pieces fall to the ground at his feet.

"BEAST!" the guard roared, raising his sword and charging forwards.

Howl stepped forwards and dodged around the guard, somehow managed to place a paw on his back shoved him hard, causing him to stagger uncertainly and eventually tumble down onto his knees. The guard stood up at once and whipped round, and Sally saw he was suddenly without his helmet. But before she could look to see where it had fallen, Howl raised a paw and revealed it - held loosely in his grasp.

The guard squeezed his fingers around the handle of his blade and gave another hate-filled roar as he lunged for Howl a second time.

And the Demon of The Forest seemed to react instinctively, for Sally had barely a moment to blink before the helmet had been dropped, the Pokémon himself had sidestepped out of harm's way, and driven his elbow back into the head of his attacker.

The first guard's voice snagged, then he tumbled forwards, and his face plummeted hard into the earthy path.

Then he was still.

Sally glanced to left and right, watching for any sudden movement, strained her ears to hear more heavy breaths or more scrapes and clinks of armour moving against itself.

Was it over?

She waited for a few more moments, and then finally closed her eyes and let out the breath she'd been holding.

It was. Finally. They were safe.

"Are you two all right?"

"We're fine," she replied at once, "We're fine."

Howl turned away from his fallen opponent and began to walk towards them, and as he did, she felt a little shiver pass along her spine.

Perhaps it was just the lingering adrenaline, but for a split-second, when she saw the fallen guards scattered along the pathway and returned her gaze to him, she thought she could see just why Rota Village would have perceived Howl as a Demon.

Then the little Pokémon hurried forwards out of nowhere and met Howl along his approach, then his expression softened, and she felt more relaxed.

The two Pokémon exchanged with one another briefly, then Howl leaned down and swung the little one lightly up onto his shoulder with his head peering out behind Howl's, as it had been before.

"All right then," Howl continued, "We need to keep going. We're almost there. You'll have time to rest soon, but this isn't the place for it. Tough it out just a little longer."

Sally nodded, and then Rowan's voice suddenly put in from behind her,

"Wait. So, where is it you're taking us? A-Are we… Are you taking us to your territory?"

Howl blinked, and his eyes moved from Rowan's face to Sally's.

"You haven't told him?" he asked her, frowning.

"I was planning to," she replied awkwardly, "but there never really was a chance to, and I didn't really know if I should, or _**how**_ I should, or…" Her voice tailed away, and the red eyes returned to Rowan as he asked,

"What're you guys talking about?"

Sally and Howl exchanged looks with one another, then in silence, they agreed with a nod.

" _ **What**_?" Rowan demanded, "You're both creeping me out right now!"

"Rowan," Sally began, "um… Howl is… H-He's…" But she broke off and shook her head uncomfortably, so Howl himself moved forwards and took over.

"Rowan. I'm going to take you and Sally somewhere safe. It's quite a long way from here, but under the circumstances, I'm afraid you have little choice in the matter."

"What do you mean?" Rowan replied, "I kind of thought you lived close by! Can't we just… y'know… stay in your territory?"

Howl closed his eyes briefly. This was the first time he'd had to answer this question any differently. But answer it differently he did, all the same.

"No."

Sally gazed, confused. What did he mean by this?

"Why not?" Rowan said incredulously, his elbows moving in what would no doubt have been a gesture if his hands hadn't still been bound behind his back.

"I thought that you were taking us to… y'know…" said Sally, moving forwards to face him beside Rowan.

"No," Howl repeated, "I can't. I can't take you to my territory. Because my territory is… crowded."

"You… told me and Sally you lived alone."

"Yes, I know.

…I lied.

My territory is close - _**very**_ close to Rota Village.

My territory is filled with Pokémon from all over our land who have been driven away from their own homes by humans just like the ones we've seen today.

…And when those humans try to drive us from the one place left to us… I stop them. _**I**_ drive _**them**_ away, by any means necessary."

A sudden intake of breath made Sally look round to see Rowan's face turning slowly pale.

"No…" he breathed, "No… way…"

"Sometimes," Howl continued, moving a step closer, "all it takes is for me to scare them. And other times… I have to resort to using force. But I will do whatever it takes to keep the Pokémon of my territory safe."

"You can't be…! You're not saying…!"

"Yes… I am, Rowan."

Howl drew another step closer, and when Rowan made to retreat, Sally caught him by the arm and held him in place.

Howl stood directly in front of Rowan and raised a paw to his chest.

"I _**am**_ the Demon of The Forest."

A long silence fell.

Sally held her gaze, until she finally looked to see the effect this revelation had brought.

Rowan's eyes were wider than she had ever seen them, and his forehead was gleaming, sending a trickle of sweat cascading down his face until it was tainted the most delicate shade of red as it passed the cut on his cheek.

"No…! You can't be…!"

Rowan retreated a couple more steps and his breaths were unsteady and shaking.

"I-I…" he stammered, "I-I…!"

Until he finally burst out,

"I invited you to DINNER?!"

"Rowan, please!" Sally implored, "Don't be like that! You know he's-"

"Sally!" he cut across suddenly, rounding on her, "Sally, you _**knew**_ about this?!"

"W-Well, no! Not really! N-Not… Not for long!"

"Not for long!? Sally, have you lost your mind?!"

"Excuse me? Ex-CUSE me?! You, sir, are in no position to start chastising me!"

"OK, first of all: I dunno what that means! And second: This isn't just any random monster, it's the Demon of The Forest! The thing which dozens of bounty hunters have fallen to! The-"

"The _**Pokémon**_ who just saved both our lives!" Sally shouted him down, making Pip jump and accidentally sink his claws into Howl's shoulder.

"Sally!" Rowan began, with a frightened glance at the Pokémon, "He's literally the most dangerous Pokémon we could be around!"

"And _**you**_ brought him into _**my**_ home!"

"I didn't know he was-"

"Why do you think the villagers want my head on a platter all of a sudden?!" she shouted.

Rowan's face went as white as chalk.

"What…?" he gasped, "Sally…? You don't mean…?"

"Rowan… look, just forget about it. It's not important," she said, trying to move away from the subject.

"It doesn't matter how this started," said a deep voice, "In the end, you're both suffering from the consequences. Blaming each other will just create distance between you, and seeing as it's only a matter of time before it's you two against the rest of your species, you're going to need each other."

Sally closed her eyes. He was right. There was no just cause for her to be angry at Rowan, especially as he had only really been doing it out of the kindness of his heart.

"Yeah," she mumbled, turning her eyes to the voice's owner. As he spoke, however, she couldn't help but notice out the corner of her eye that Rowan had taken yet another step away from him.

The Pokémon had seen this too, for he then said,

"Rowan. I have no reason to harm you. You spoke me as an equal. As a creature not to be feared, but to be accepted and learned of. It was very kind."

Rowan glanced towards the ground and gritted his teeth, stammering as though he were trying to speak. Then, unsuccessful, he turned away.

Howl grunted.

"Fine. I won't try and persuade you if knowing who I am really does frighten you. If you don't want my help, then I'll stay out of your way. However, if you do want it, I just happen to know a place where you will not only be impossible to find, but where you will also be quite comfortable.

But regardless of your decision, I still need to take this one back to my forest.

Come with me or go your own way; it is up to you."

And with that, Howl turned and began to walk away along the path.

But before he had gone very far, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder.

"And… if you end up choosing the latter... know that I won't forget what you did for me."

Then, without another word, he walked on, with the little Pokémon on his shoulder occasionally glancing back as if completely at a loss.

Sally edged around Rowan and untied his hands before making to go after him, but Rowan took hold of her by the arm.

"Sally…!" he pleaded, but she pulled free and walked on.

" _ **Sally**_ …!"

Though she heard the desperation in his voice, she knew there was no other option. And if Rowan refused to see that, then she would need to be firm in order for him to cooperate.

"…W-Wait up!" she heard at last, "Sally, wait for me!"

She smiled to herself and slowed for him to catch up.

"Thanks, Rowan. You're the best," she said sincerely.

He mumbled a vague reply and looked uncertainly along the path towards where Howl walked a little ahead of them.

"It's OK…" she said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it gently, "He won't hurt us. I promise."

He nodded glumly, and she followed his gaze. Somewhere amidst the fighting, the Pokémon pulling the wagon must have seized the chance to flee, she thought; for no matter where she looked, neither they nor the wagon itself were anywhere to be seen. She, Rowan, Howl and the little Pokémon on his shoulder were the only conscious life for at least a mile. Then she realised she was still holding onto his hand, and let go at once.

Eventually, Howl's pace declined to a stop in the middle of the path ahead, and it was only his ears that gave the smallest twitch as the two of them finally drew level behind him.

"Um…" she began uncertainly.

"Let's go," he said shortly.

"W-What do you…?" she asked.

He stopped and glanced back over his shoulder again.

"Are you coming with me or not?"

Sally was about to reply, but then she thought better of it, and gave Rowan the gentlest push.

Rowan gulped and she saw his hands tremble at his side.

"Dem-" he said, "I-I mean, Howl… Please… take us to this safe place you're talking about.

…I know we're humans, and you have every right to hate us, but _**please**_ -"

"Understood," the Pokémon said before he could finish, and continued along the path.

Rowan stood where he was, completely stunned, and it was only as the distance between them increased that Sally finally took hold of his arm and tugged him along behind her.

"All right," Howl telepathized at last, "You two wait here. I'll be back."

Sally was brought out of her thoughts with a jolt, and looked around, startled to find that they had already reached the crossroads.

Howl headed forwards, in-between the path which lead to their left - straight towards Rota Village, and one which went on and on into the distance. She caught sight of where the Pokémon was walking towards and felt suddenly nauseous.

"Hey!" she called out before she knew what she was doing, "Howl?"

He stopped in his tracks.

"What?"

She couldn't respond. An inexplicable fear had come over her, and then she felt her legs begin to tremble and give way.

"Sally?" murmured Rowan's voice, "What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?"

"I-I… I don't know…" she replied. What was the matter with her? She shifted a glance again towards The Forest and felt the same sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"You're not hurt, are you?!" Rowan asked with a definite note of panic in his voice.

"No!" she answered immediately.

"What's the matter, then?"

"I-I don't…!"

She heard the sound of approaching footsteps and looked up, startled to find the Pokémon suddenly standing right before her.

"You're shaking," he said quietly.

He sank to her level and looked at her probingly, and at last she found her voice.

"Okay. Howl… please, just be straight with me. H-How... safe is it going to be for me and Rowan in there?"

"In where?" he asked.

"The Forest," she replied, "I mean, I know you protect them, and I know you'll try and explain, but you said so yourself that the place is crowded full of other Pokémon! And it's possible that some of 'em might not trust us… right?"

Howl's mouth opened slightly as he perked an ear the side.

"What are you talking about?" he said finally, "You're not coming with me into The Forest."

"Wait," she exclaimed, "what? But I thought that you-!

You said you were going to take us somewhere safe!"

"I know what I said. And I told you, I can't take humans into The Forest."

"But Rowan and me - We aren't…! We don't hate Pokémon! We're not like the humans you guys have all seen! Couldn't you just tell them that?"

"It's not that simple," he said,

"I can't just flex the rules however I please. The only reason the Pokémon of The Forest look to me as a leader is because they believe I can protect them. They believe when a human tries to get inside, I will always be able to stop them. If I suddenly started bringing humans _**in**_ and saying that they could _**also**_ be trusted, all their faith in me would be destroyed in an instant. They would doubt me, begin to question my cause - and probably my sanity too. And then if some didn't try to unite against me, then I know they'd at least go rouge and try to get rid of you on their own. And if that happened, I would have to stop them. And unfortunately, stopping fellow Pokémon isn't always as easy as just standing in the way.

Fights would break out, and then the whole forest would be thrown into confusion and panic that I would never be able to undo.

…I will _**not**_ let that happen.

I will die before I see this society fall."

Sally felt the air leave her lungs.

"But then…" she breathed, "what are we going to do?"

"Relax; I'm not going to abandon you. There is a place I can take you. But I've got to warn you, it'll be a long journey, one that we'll be making entirely on foot. So you're going to have to muster all the endurance you have."

"What is this place?" Rowan asked.

The Pokémon turned his gaze to him and said, "It's an island. Far to the west. That island is home to a close friend of mine. She'll be able, and more than willing to take you in."

"An island…" Rowan murmured.

"A close friend?" Sally asked in the same tone, "You mean she's another Pokémon? Why would she take us in?"

"She's not a Pokémon," Howl replied,

"She's a human. Her name is Emmia."

A distant call suddenly echoed, and Howl whipped around to The Forest and stared deep into the trees.

"I have to go," he said shortly, "Stay here until I return."

"-But-!"

"-Wait a-!" Rowan and Sally began in unison.

But the Pokémon had sprinted away before either of them could finish talking.

Rowan and Sally looked at each other in silence and saw their own expression mirrored on each other's faces.

Through the trees he ran, leaping over roots and ducking underneath branches, skidding to a halt and dodging behind cover as a small group of forest-dwellers walked past, heading towards the eating area where the call had echoed from.

Once they were gone, he sped across the path and into the foliage, wading as quickly as he could through it all until they came out at last upon another path.

"Sir? Where are we going?" asked Pip, pressing his ears flat as Howl ducked underneath another low branch.

Finally, when they themselves were close to an entry point of the eating area, Howl came to a stop.

"Little one," he said, lowering him to the ground, "listen to me very, very carefully. There's something I have to do now, someplace I need to go, and I'm afraid I won't be back for a while. I'm telling _**you**_ this, but it would be better if others didn't know. I plan to be back before anybody notices my absence, so if anyone asks you where I am, I want you to tell them, please, that you don't know."

"Why, sir? Where are you going?"

"Out. I'm meeting someone, but I promise I'll be back."

"Can I come?"

"No."

He held up his paw before Pip could respond and briefly searched the Aura in the eating area before returning his gaze and continuing,

"Stick is sitting with Rustle a few groups ahead. Head on in and ask if you can sit with them. I'm going to go and find Mist and I'll tell her where you are. She'll look after you while I'm gone."

"But, sir, I-!" said Pip desperately, "I want to come with you!"

"You can't."

"Bu-"

" _ **No**_ , Pip. I'm sorry, but you're not coming. It's too dangerous. And you've already been exposed to far more danger than I should've ever allowed you to be. Stay here, where you'll be safe."

Pip looked up beseechingly, but he met his gaze coldly. Then Pip mumbled a vague reply.

"Thank you," Howl said, then, "Don't worry, you'll be all right. I'll be back soon."

"OK…"

Howl patted his back lightly, then stood and strode away, back along the path, and began searching for Mist's Aura.

But then,

"Sir!"

-he heard Pip's rapid footfalls and turned just as Pip flung his front paws around his ankle.

"Sir, please…!" he begged, "Let me come with you! Please! I don't want to be all on my own again! I _**promise**_ I'll listen to you! I'll do whatever you say! _**Please**_ let me come!"

"Pip, let go of my leg."

"No!" Pip shook his head wildly and clung on even tighter.

Howl tried to dislodge him as best as he could, but still he held on fast.

He sank awkwardly to one knee, leaned his head in close, and said very quietly,

"Pip. _**Let go**_."

A barely-audible sniff, and then the little one obeyed, looking up at him with trembling lips and glistening brown eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Howl, "I truly am. If the circumstances were different, then of course I would let you come along. Unfortunately, however, they're not. The outside world is extremely dangerous. No place for someone like you."

"I don't CARE!" Pip snapped.

"But I do," Howl replied, "How do you think I'd feel if something happened to you? And it was my fault?"

Pip opened his mouth to respond; hesitated, and then closed it again.

"You need to stay safe. You know that. Think of the sacrifices your mum and dad made just so you would get here.

I can't betray their sacrifices. And I'm not going to."

"But…" Pip murmured, "what if… what if they're close by? What if they've found each other and they're looking for us?"

Howl breathed a sigh.

"I'm sorry," he said again, "but I'm afraid they're not close by, Pip. We've searched. _**I've**_ searched. Whether they're together or apart, neither of them are close by."

Howl could see his eyes beginning to well up, and sure enough after he had spoken, Pip had once again lowered his head and begun to sniff as he had seen him do so many times before. It was a sight miserable enough to have made even the most hardened of Pokémon feel tremendous stabs of pity.

This was wrong, Howl thought. No child should ever have to grow up like this! No child should ever have to grow up alone!

He reached forward, hooked a finger under the little Pokémon's chin and lifted his head up.

"Come on now, boy," he said, "Enough with the waterworks. I know you miss them, but this isn't what they wanted for you. You don't want them to find you like this when they come back, do you?"

Pip's eyes flicked down to the end of his small black nose, and his lips quivered.

Howl kept his own silence for a minute, contemplating an idea that had just taken shape in his mind. Then he reached a decision.

"All right... Listen."

Pip met his gaze.

"I'm prepared to make a deal with you, Pip," he said, releasing him and crouching low until their eyes were perfectly level with one another,

"If you give me your word that you will do as I ask and stay in The Forest until I come back, I'll do something for you."

"Wh-What?"

"What if I told you that the next time a search party is sent out, I will direct the focus entirely to your parents and lead the most thorough search possible…

…and that I may allow you to accompany us?"

The young Pokémon's eyes widened, and the faintest intake of breath was picked up from his open-mouthed expression.

"Are you serious?" he asked, his voice slightly rattled from what would have been a sob.

"I am," Howl replied, "But _**only**_ if you stay here. You keep your promise to me, and I'll do the same."

"You will? You really, really will?"

"Yes. I _**swear**_ it."

A beam spread slowly across Pip's face, and he wiped his eyes dry.

"How about it? Do we have a deal?"

"Y-…Yes! Yes, sir! Yes, we do!"

"Then let's shake on it," said the Guardian, straightening up and holding out his paw. At once, Pip shoved his own paw into Howl's open palm, then the latter closed three dark fingers around it, and shook.

"Very well."

Pip looked up at him, and before Howl could say anything, he suddenly trotted forwards, vaulted lightly up onto Howl's leg and hugged him tightly around the midriff.

"Agh…" Howl groaned,

"Again with the…!

…Pip… I'm really not much of a…"

His voice gave out. Then at last he shook his head wearily and rested a paw on Pip's back.

"Thank you, sir…" said the little one's voice, "Thank you so, so much…"

"Don't thank me yet. I still have a job to do."

"I promise…

I promise I'll stay here, sir. And I won't tell anyone anything."

Howl smiled.

"Atta boy."

Then he let him gently down.

"I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah."

"Go on now, beat it."

Pip gave him one last fleeting smile, then turned and scurried away around the corner and out of sight.

Howl chuckled quietly.

'For someone so small, he has a lot of energy to spare,' he thought, before getting to his feet and heading in the opposite direction.

"Why?!" said Mist indignantly, "What's happened? Just tell me!"

"I can't," he replied, trying to keep his voice low, "I'm not sure of anything yet, but I need to go and find out _**now**_."

"Why _**now**_?! What it is - what have you found?!"

He struggled to respond, racking his mind to come up with something. Then he scoured the trees around his training ground for any eavesdroppers listening in before continuing even more quietly,

"Mist… you remember what I told you, yes? About what… happened to my hometown?

I… I'm not sure what it is - _**maybe**_ it doesn't mean anything, but when I was scanning the Aura last night, I… I found something. Someone's Aura outside The Forest, and I tried to go after it."

"Somebody tried to leave?"

"No, I mean… the Aura wasn't from here. It was fairly close, but when I got to it, it wasn't the actual Aura itself I'd sensed, but traces of it.

…And they were leading me somewhere. Even further away. I wanted to follow, but I knew I couldn't. At least, not without letting you know first."

"So why won't you let anyone go with you?!" she demanded, "You've lead rescue teams before! Why're you going solo all of a sudden?!"

"Mist, there's… something about this Aura. It's like… a familiar scent to me.

Like I know it somehow. I think It's someone from Treasure Town!"

"How do you know that?! What if you're wrong?!"

"I _**don't**_ know it! That's my point! I have to track them down _**now**_ before the traces disperse! This is something _**I**_ have to do! No-one else needs to get involved!"

She turned away from him and began to pace back and forth, ringing her hands together.

"How long will this take you?" she asked, "When will you be back?"

"I shouldn't take too long. All the more reason for me to go alone and leave the others here. The Forest will be safer, and I'll be able to go about my business quicker."

"That's not an answer! Tell me! When will you be back?!"

The Guardian of The Forest hesitated.

"A few days," he said finally, and it was like a spark igniting a towering flame.

"WHAT?!"

Mist strode back towards him and grabbed onto his shoulders.

"A few DAYS?!" she cried, glaring up at him.

"Two or three at most," he retorted, his tone brusque,

"Mist, please!"

"Have you _**actually**_ lost your mind?! Howl, maybe you've forgotten, so allow me to remind you!"

"Mist-"

"Just a little ways to the south of here is this little village, right? And in this little village are these locals, and these locals are called _**humans**_!

What are we supposed to do if they attack while you're-"

"The humans haven't attacked us for a solid four months!" he said, wishing there were time to explain to her the real reason why they would not be attacking,

"And that's also why I insist that you let me do this alone so that The Forest will remain protected!

Mist, please… I implore you…!

I know it's a risk, but I've got to do this.

…I need you to trust me."

"I…!" she stammered, her expression desperate, "Howl…!"

But he could see that their argument was over. He dislodged her arms clasped on either side of him and strode away, determined not to waste another moment.

"Howl, don't do this!" she pleaded.

"Don't worry," he said, trying to sound calm in the hopes of helping her to be calm too,

"I'll come back. I swear."

He had only gone another couple of steps when she snapped in a tone that vented fury and scorn,

"You mean you'll come back like you did for Treasure Town?!"

Howl froze.

He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. And Mist's sudden intake of breath was the only sound to be heard.

"I'm sorry…!" she said, "I'm so sorry…! I-I didn't-"

" _ **No**_!" he answered, and his voice was deeper, more dangerous, and more frightening than she had heard it be in a long time.

" _ **Never**_ ," he continued, looking back,

"…Not on my life."

-and before she could even begin to contemplate her answer, Howl had disappeared into the trees.


	14. Chapter 13

**Part Two:**

 **The Forgotten Lands**

* * *

 _ **Chapter Thirteen:**_

 _ **Caged & Wounded**_

* * *

Rowan and Sally struggled to keep on moving, each of them bent double, clutching their stomachs and sweating with exertion. The rocky ground beneath them was unstable, and more than once they had placed their foot on an uneven space only for it to break away and tumble inexorably down the slope in their wake.

Cold wind suddenly whipped the hair from their eyes and Sally turned hers up towards the sky, which, since that morning, had become a boundless veil of dark, ominous grey.

She heard Rowan grumble and followed his gaze towards the Pokémon practically sprinting ahead of them, stopping only briefly every now and then to ensure they were not split up.

"Rowan," she said wearily, "if I didn't know any better, I'd - well... I'd almost think you were unhappy about something."

" _ **No**_ … you think?" Rowan snapped without looking at her,

" _ **The mountains**_ …! Why is he making us go through the mountains…?!"

"Well… maybe it's quicker!" she said desperately.

"Quicker? _**Quicker**_?! Maybe for him, but not for us! I mean, look at him! He's making this look like a leisurely stroll!"

"I'm surprised to hear that from you. Either you're exaggerating right now, or you're not very fit for a wandering job-hunter."

"I chose to be a wandering job-hunter 'cause I thought I could take it easy!" he said, and slumped onto his hands and knees as soon as he'd managed to surmount a small ledge in their path.

"I hate hard work…!" he groaned finally.

"Come on, you two, don't fall behind. Keep moving," said a familiar voice.

"C'mon," she said, shaking her companion by the shoulder, but Rowan groaned again.

"I can't," he said, "I can't. This is… This is _**agony**_."

"Yet you've got the energy to complain about it," she responded curtly, now trying to take hold of his arm and pull him to his feet.

"Sally…" he said tremulously, looking up to her with pleading eyes, "Can you carry me?"

"I… I'm sorry, _**what**_?"

"Come on…! Just 'til we catch up to him! I'd do it for yo-"

"What are you two doing?!" their guide's voice snarled, " _ **Keep moving**_!"

"Coming!" she responded at once, dropping Rowan's arm and moving ahead.

"Hey!" Rowan called, "Sally!" –and she heard him scramble to his feet and hasten to follow her up the slope.

When they had at last managed to catch up, they found their guide bent to one knee with his head bowed and eyes closed as if in slumber. Sally was about to alert him of their presence when she caught sight of the two black appendages that hung a little below his ears on the back of his head. She had never given them a moment's thought before, but the way they were now made her alive with wonder. They were flowing noiselessly out to either side as though held by an invisible hand, hovering lightly in the air as though suspended beneath water.

Sally felt a sudden desire to reach out to one of them, to inquire about them, to know just what they were! But she mastered herself and held back. Howl stood up and then, just like that, the appendages fell limp again. He looked here and there towards two alternate routes for them to take, then at last said, "This way."

Sally could almost feel Rowan's rush of indignation, and in truth felt slightly nauseated by the decision herself.

They had spent much of their energy on the journey so far, and with barely a moment to rest, they were already being directed across another path that looked nothing short of laborious.

But she didn't dare complain.

For the most part, the three of them spoke very little - aside from Rowan's continued mutterings whenever the path ahead took its toll, and Sally was busily taking in the surroundings and mesmerising the view of the world below. Never before had she ventured into the mountains, and if the situation had not been so serious, she would have been treasuring every second.

Howl had been almost completely silent since he'd returned from The Forest and seemed to be focusing all his attention on navigating, which they could understand reasonably enough.

Eventually they came to the start of yet another slope, and Sally - unable to bear the muttering any longer - had begun to strike up conversation with Rowan.

And of all things, their topic gradually shifted into an endless talk about none other than their guide, who was still striding ahead.

"No. I only found out about it last night," she said, "I didn't know who he really was any more than you did."

"Why's he even here, though? I mean, why'd he come back?" Rowan asked.

"No idea, now that you mention it. He showed up at just the right time. If he hadn't come back, those villagers probably would have…" But she couldn't bring herself to voice the rest of that thought.

"…Did he say anything about why he'd come?"

She shook her head.

Rowan looked uneasy.

"I don't like it. The Demon of The Forest just happening to appear like that…"

"Why not? Personally, I think I was pretty lucky. If you really need to know, why don't you just ask him?"

Rowan's mouth thinned and looked away to avoid answering.

"What I'm curious about," she continued, "is this human friend of his. He said she lives on an island, right? How d'you reckon they know each other?"

"Maybe he was being held by some monster hunters and she set him free?"

"Hmm… maybe. I don't think so, though. Judging by what we've seen, I don't think he'd be so easily captured."

"Maybe it was when he was little! Like, when he was too young to fight back!"

"Can't be! Humans haven't been here _**that**_ long. Also, that's horrible, Rowan. Don't even talk about baby Pokémon getting caught by those sick creeps…"

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Well…" said Rowan at last, "what do _**you**_ think, then?"

Sally pondered.

"I think maybe he met her about the same way he met you. Maybe he realised that she was good and she let him stay with her. If she lived on an island when they met, then she wouldn't have to worry about getting caught nearly as much as the rest of us. Nobody would go searching nearby islands for anybody living there when there are plenty of townspeople's homes to scour from top to bottom."

"If that's the case, why would he have left and become the so-called Demon of some random forest?" he pointed out, "Where's the sense in that?"

"Hey, yeah. That's actually a good point… So maybe they did get caught? Maybe he left because he didn't want to put her in danger anymore?"

"Maybe they had a really heated argument and he left."

She scoffed.

"Maybe!" he insisted, "I know I wouldn't want to be stuck on an island with somebody who I'd had a big fight with!"

But she said flatly,

"No.

No, no, no. That's a dumb idea and you're dumb for thinking it."

"Takes dumb to know dumb."

"Whu-? Since when?!"

They stopped then because they had caught up with their guide, who had settled on a rock waiting for them, gazing out into the distance.

Rowan held back, but Sally walked to his side and looked across the land below.

"Is that the village?" she asked, pointing towards a little cluster of objects atop the boundless fields of green.

"Yes," he replied.

She scoured the road for a moment more.

"…And there's your forest," she added, "It looks massive even all the way up here."

"Mmm," he said indifferently.

"Howl…? What do you think the villagers will do now? Will The Forest be okay without you there?"

"They won't be trying to invade it. If they have any common sense, they'll prioritise licking their wounds before doing anything else, and I did my best to make sure they'd be occupied with that for a while. And The Forest isn't defenceless without me. It'll be fine."

"That's good."

"So, hey…"

They looked around. Rowan had finally found his voice, and was glancing anxiously at the Pokémon.

"Those villagers – a-and the soldiers too…

Did you…

Did you kill them?"

The Pokémon shook his head.

"No. I held back enough for them to live. They're still alive. All of them."

"You… were holding back?" Sally said, remembering how ferociously he had fought against so many armed opponents.

"Why?" said Rowan, "What does it matter to you if some humans die? What do you care?"

A blaze of anger gleamed in Howl's eyes.

" _ **Why**_?" he said, "Why do you think?"

The Pokémon stood up slowly and Rowan took a few steps backwards.

"Wait!" said Sally swiftly, "Howl, he didn't mean anything by it, it's just - well,"

She struggled to find the words as the crimson glare flicked towards her instead,

"You… You _**are**_ called the Demon of The Forest. I-It is kind of a surprise to hear that you let your enemies live even when they were trying t-"

"Who do you think I am?" he said, "You thought the villagers had me figured out when they gave me that _**nickname**_? Even though they explicitly despise Pokémon regardless of whether we've done anything to them or not?"

"No!" she said desperately, "No, of course not! We… Well… W-We know you're not-"

But Rowan intervened before she could finish,

"Sorry," he said,

"You're right. You're right, I-I shouldn't have assumed that you…

…Argh…

…I'm sorry."

Howl eyed him warily.

"Thank you," he said, "…I accept your apology."

He looked away towards the mountain path and continued on, beckoning them to follow with a flick of his paw. Sally and Rowan's eyes met, and, despite the sincerity of both their apologies, each saw the same mirrored expression on the other's face, signalling to them both that Howl's answer had been just as much a surprise to Sally as it had been to Rowan.

Half an hour later, when the last remains of greenery around them had reached their limit into the highlands and the sky above had become an even darker hue of grey, the three came to an abrupt halt.

Sally and Rowan peered round, and saw just why Howl had stopped so suddenly.

The path before them had broken away and become nothing but a wide slope of unstable footing leading relentlessly down and further down, whether to the very bottom of the mountain again or to a sudden, sharp drop, if they attempted to move across it, their fates would be one and the same.

"What should we do?" Sally asked the back of the Pokémon's head, "Should we maybe go back?"

"No. The other pathway wasn't much safer than what you see before you," he said.

"So how're we gonna get across?" said Rowan.

The Pokémon was silent, and then once again they saw the appendages behind his ears reach out to left and right as though feeling for something in the air.

"What…" Sally began to say at last, but then the Pokémon turned his gaze to the left, and Sally and Rowan followed suit.

A large cluster of ancient vines had grown up along the wall beside them, attaining an undisturbed twenty-or-so metres before Sally saw them curl over the edge of the wall onto another patch of flat earth.

"There," he said, "We should be able to climb up that wall."

His gaze swept over the two of them, taking in their trembling legs and heavy breathing.

Sally could tell that Rowan was fighting with all his heart to not speak what was on his mind, but the effort alone was enough to shape his expression into one a toddler would have no trouble deciphering.

"Something on your mind, Rowan?" the Pokémon asked dryly.

"You've got to be kidding!" Rowan blurted out, "That's way too high! And we've been moving nonstop for hours!"

"Please, Howl," said Sally, "I'm sorry, but I have to agree. We're tired. _**I'm**_ tired. If you say that's our only way forward, then, like it or not, we sort of have to believe you, but… can we please just rest first? Get our strength back?"

His eyes moved to focus unblinkingly on her.

"I'm afraid we can't. Not here, anyway."

"Why not?!" Rowan cried in desperation, and Sally had to grip his shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"Haven't you two noticed? Take a good look at that sky. Don't you feel the moisture in the air? It's been getting stronger by the minute. It's going to rain, and soon. If we rest now, it could start pouring down on us, and then climbing that wall will be impossible. It's the only way forwards and we need to take it now while we can.

I'm aware that you're tired, but I warned you that this wasn't going to be an easy journey. Once we're over the wall, we'll find some shelter and then you can have your rest."

Rowan's fingers curled into fists and his breaths trembled heavily. Sally followed the vines from the roots to the tips and felt her stomach clench like a vice.

Climb a twenty-metre-high wall? She might have found it _**possible**_ if they had come across it nearer to the beginning of their journey, and if she'd had a full stomach to boot, but _**now**_?"

The Pokémon's growl of a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Of course… if you two can't handle this, I won't think any less of you. It's not too late. Just say the word and I'll take you back."

"Take us back?" Rowan repeated scathingly, "To what?"

"Level ground."

They fell silent.

Sally squeezed Rowan's shoulder for comfort and breathed a heavy sigh.

"No," she said, "No. This is our best course of action."

Rowan nodded gloomily.

"Yeah," he said, "We can't go back. Not now. We've got to keep moving."

The ghost of a smile flickered across Howl's face and he nodded in turn.

"As you wish."

He took a step closer and held out his paws.

"All right then. Both of you, hand me your backpacks, and take off the cloaks too while you're at it. The less weight you have on your shoulders, the easier the climb will be.

Don't worry," he added as Sally made to speak, "I'll be fine. You just worry about yourselves."

So they obeyed, stuffing their cloaks into their already-cramped luggage and handing them to the Pokémon, who shouldered Rowan's satchel and Sally's rucksack without a word before turning and gripping onto the trailing plant and hoisting himself up.

"Come on. The sooner we start this, the sooner it ends."

Sally shifted a glance at Rowan.

It just so happened that the exact words the Pokémon had said coincided with Rowan's outlook on just about any unpleasant task that day-to-day life could conceive.

"Yup," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching, "can't argue with that."

The two of them finally followed suit and began to climb the wall as well.

Howl took care to remain close to them at all times, so that whenever they were unable to find further leverage, he would be able to descend to them and instruct on where to place their feet and hands, always making sure that they stuck close together, never rushing ahead or falling behind.

He showed no signs of fatigue, despite more than once having to physically pull one of them up to keep them moving.

He guided, encouraged, bullied, aided, nagged, and even fumed at them whenever the need arose.

"Hey!" he snarled, glaring towards Rowan's unmoving figure,

"I saw that! Did I, or did I not tell you to keep on moving _**without**_ looking back?!"

"Give me a break!" Rowan cried, "The more forward we go, the more high up we go, and the more high up we go, the more I need to look down - I can't help it!"

"No excuses! Suck it up and keep moving!"

"Sally!" Rowan moaned, his voice carrying down the wall directly to her ears,

"Is following this person seriously our best course of action?!"

"Bite your tongue!" Howl snapped before she could respond, "Do I look like a 'person' to you?"

Sally gritted her teeth and forced herself onward.

"Just keep moving!" she replied, "As long as we hurry, we can beat the rain!"

The words had barely left her mouth when she felt a single drop of liquid patter on the top of her head, closely followed by a second, a third, and then suddenly the sound of it crashing to the ground overwhelmed her senses and forced an anguished cry from the two humans.

"What was that, Sally?!" Rowan shouted, "Something about beating the rain?!"

"Ah, shut up!" she spat, but then her foot slipped and she cried out as her body fell suddenly limp, clinging desperately onto a single large strand.

"Guys!" she called, "Guys, I need-"

The vine snapped away from the wall and began to slide out from underneath its entangled fellows, steadily picking up speed as she began to descend along with it.

She heard Rowan's voice bellow her name and amidst the panic, her pulse thundering in her ears, the rain hammering down all around, she heard the voice in her mind tell to hold on and not let go, and though she tried to obey, the sodden vine slid through her fingers and she had a horrible sensation of falling for only a split-second when there came a sudden grab on her wrist.

A sound carried from closely above. A quiet, but sickly sound of something tearing; being tugged apart by some force, and then a roar of pain echoed within the open air and shook her to the core.

She turned her gaze upwards and saw Howl – teeth clenched and body trembling – clutching onto the row of vines above with one paw and the other keeping a firm hold on her wrist.

Then her eyes fell to the trail of blood flowing along his waist from the dark opening in his stomach.

"Cursed…

…VILLAGERS!" he roared, his hold tightening painfully hard before he began to grunt and lift her up towards the wall again, causing more blood to gush from his open wound.

She gasped as it began to drip freely from the ends of his fur.

"No, no, no, stop, _**stop**_!" she pleaded, but he took no notice and tossed his head meaningfully. She understood and grabbed a fistful of foliage once more and began to climb – without the slightest care for her own safety any longer! Ignoring the stabs of pain in her palms as the prickly root hairs pierced her skin like needles, barely noticing the dull, nauseating feeling in her tired limbs!

Of the three of them, the first to reach the top was Rowan, who saw her on his trail and said, panic-stricken,

"What's happened?! Sally, you OK?!"

"Never mind about _**me**_!" she blazed, and turned her head back down to see their Pokémon guide panting with every step he took, but still moving determinedly onward.

"Here!" she called, dropping onto her front and plunging a rubbed-raw hand down to help.

He heard her call and scrambled higher up before accepting her assistance.

She felt his weight alone nearly pull her back down.

Rowan offered his hand as well, and together they pulled their companion up.

He crawled dazedly forward, breathing heavily, and whole body vibrating from a steady, almost rhythmic growl.

"What's happened to you?!" Rowan demanded, falling to his knees beside the Pokémon,

"Is that - blood?! Wh-What - S-Sally, what's-?!"

She put her arms around Howl and guided him to sit back against a rock, seeing the cobalt fur on his hips smeared with red.

"Let me see," she said, trying to coax his paw off the tan-coloured fur on his torso.

"It's nothing…" he grunted, "The freshly-grown skin's just torn a little… I'm fine…"

"No you're not! Just move your paw away now, for crying out loud!"

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a moment, then finally did as she told him to.

"What do you see?" he asked, "How deep is it?"

Sally felt nauseated by the question, but peered closely and said,

"Pretty deep…"

He sat up straight and, after a few more shuddering breaths, pressed his paw firmly down on the open wound, moving it circular motions and fingers burrowing deep beneath his fur.

"Well…" he said, "I don't think any organs have opened up again… at least."

His paws clenched and his limbs shook violently as he struggled to his feet.

"What are you doing?!" she cried, "We need to-"

"We _**need**_ to find shelter," he growled, "We'll sort this out once we're out of the rain…"

His first few steps caused ceaseless trembling in his legs, but at the moment she and Rowan hastened to his side and made individually to support him, he stopped and looked at them both.

"I can walk on my own."

He slipped his arms out of their grasp and continued, and despite his back being arched slightly and a paw clutching his stomach, his pace was completely steady.

Sally and Rowan exchanged a look with each other, and without so much as a word, each understood exactly what the other was thinking. They hurried after him and retrieved their luggage, shouldering as much of his burden as they could, and walked closely on either side of him, each prepared to catch him the instant he so much as stumbled.

After they had been moving along the rocky trail for quite some time, Howl's pace began to decline, and his breaths became more and more audible. His head, however, remained upright and scanning the surroundings for a safe place to rest.

"Hey, wait!" said Rowan suddenly, "Look over there. I think I see a cave!"

They followed his indication towards a ledge and moved away to get a better view.

There was indeed an opening in mountain's rocky wall.

"Better not get our hopes too high. It could just be a fissure," said Sally.

"Does it really matter?" Rowan insisted, "Cave or fissure or whatever, all we need is a spot to keep us dry."

"If it _**is**_ a cave… it could be dangerous…" said Howl, and his fatigue was all too clear to them now,

"I'll go and check."

Immediately Rowan and Sally said,

"-No!-"

"-No!-"

And put out their arms to stop him.

"I'll go," said Rowan, "You guys stay here, and, Sally, make sure he doesn't mutilate himself any furth-"

"Thanks, but no thanks. If you go alone, you're liable to do something stupid if something comes up. How about _**you**_ stay here and stop him from damaging himself while _**I**_ go?"

"Aww, Sally, thanks so much for believing in me, but if it isn't safe, I'd much rather I'd be the one who found out than you! I don't want you getting hurt!"

"Just who d'you think you-"

"Enough!" Howl snapped, "We'll go together, then. If it turns out to be dangerous, at least I can still protect you. Let's move, already, the rain isn't getting any warmer."

He strode ahead towards the ledge and leaned against the wall briefly, regaining his breath. Perceiving his intentions, the two humans immediately wrenched their eyes away from one another and hurried onto the ledge before he could so much as reach for the threshold. He looked at them wearily as they simultaneously offered their hands.

But reluctantly he accepted, and allowed himself to be pulled up by the arms.

"So, it is a cave after all," Rowan thought out-loud as they peered inside.

"Looks dark," said Sally, "Rowan, you've got a lantern, right?"

Before he could reach into his satchel to get it out, however, Howl had stepped into the cave and raised a paw before him, and seemingly out of nothing, a strange blue fire began to glow off his forearm, a fire of the very same midnight-colour Sally remembered seeing before when the burglars had caught her.

So she had been right! That had been Howl's doing!

They followed him in silence.

The blue flame lit up the cave's narrow walls, and fairly soon they found themselves nearing a corner heading deeper in.

But as their footsteps shifted rocks on the ground with a clatter, a high screech suddenly rent through the silence and froze them stock-still in their tracks.

"Wh-What was that…?!" Sally gasped.

"Get behind me – now!" said Howl, and then the flame was suddenly dispersed.

She made to feel around her to get a sense of where to go, but then she felt Howl's large paws steer her against the wall, and judged by a muffled yelp that Rowan had been moved in the same manner too.

"Quiet!" Howl commanded.

Sally sensed him move in front of her, and heard him continue,

"Follow me. Move as quietly as you can.

I don't know what's ahead; it sounded small, but we shouldn't take any chances. Be ready to run."

Sally nodded - before remembering he could not see her anyway, and followed the sound of his feet treading deftly ahead of them.

In the silence she thought she heard a voice muttering in the depths of the darkness, and was about to try and alert the Pokémon when she suddenly felt him grip her shoulder and hold her to the spot.

She felt behind her for Rowan and held him back too.

Howl peered around the corner of the cave, and Sally noticed there was a faint glow of firelight gleaming off the opposite wall and silhouetting the Pokémon's pointed ears twitching towards the muttering.

She had only just caught sight of them when there was another shrill cry from just around the corner – a rolling, piercing, and unmistakably anguished cry.

Then she heard a metallic rattle – as if something was being shook – and caught an enraged voice speaking a garble of words she couldn't understand.

Howl moved forward and stood directly in the middle of the cave's floor, in what would be plain view.

Then his whole body began to glow; began to radiate that uncanny blue fire.

The rattling sounds stopped abruptly, and Sally heard a sharp intake of breath.

Howl's blue glow suddenly shone blindingly bright, and Sally had to shield her

eyes which had only recently adjusted to the perpetual darkness.

Then, from just beyond her sight came a frail cry of absolute terror.

She edged anxiously forwards and looked around the corner.

There, seated atop a large patterned rug, and back pressed as closely to the end of the cave as could be, she saw a man in old, tattered clothing who looked as though he had been living outside of civilisation for years.

As she moved carefully out from behind her cover, she saw a trickle of sweat drip down his forehead, and when Rowan finally peered round the corner and stood beside her, the man clenched his teeth, as if what _**he**_ saw was something terrifying.

He spoke.

Neither Sally nor Rowan understood, but Howl did, and responded:

"We merely seek shelter from the rain, stranger. We don't have any reason to cause you trouble. And if our presence really does bother you, we will stay closer towards the exit until-"

The man raised his voice and shook his head wildly, cutting across the Pokémon before he had the chance to finish.

"We mean you no harm," he said calmly, but the man shook his head again and pointed a shaking finger not just at the Pokémon, but to all three of them, blathering and wailing profusely.

"What?" Howl said, baffled,

"Wait, slow down. I think we're on very different pages here. What are you-"

The man shouted, his garble of words resounding through the narrow room and he shrank back against the wall, shaking like a leaf.

"What's wrong with him?" Sally asked timidly, "Howl? D'you understand what he's saying?"

"I understand the words, I'm just not getting the sense."

He crossed his arms and frowned.

"I don't think his mind's all there.

…He thinks we're ghosts."

"Wh-?!

 _ **Ghosts**_?!" said Sally.

"Something along those lines," Howl replied, "Vengeful spirits, perhaps? He keeps saying we've come to haunt him for all the things he's done."

"What… What _**has**_ he done?" Rowan asked.

The Pokémon shook his head. He was no clearer on the matter.

"Is he… a bandit?" Rowan enquired, his face uneasy, "Some kinda… former gang leader or-"

Then the sound returned once again and cut the conversation short.

The rolling shriek, the sound of metal wiring being battered, and the flutter of tiny wing-beats.

Howl's blue glow illuminated their surroundings completely, revealing certain things which they had not been able to take note of before:

A cluster of wood and stones that were the diminishing remains of what had been the man's campfire;

An old, rusted set of armour that lay beside the hilt of a broken blade;

And a cage that hung from the ceiling in the very back of the enclosure – a cage only about a foot wide.

And inside the cage was a tiny Bird-Pokémon, easily recognisable by any other Pokémon as an Pidgey.

When Howl's gaze turned sharply towards her, she cried out and twittered wildly, battering her wings against the bars of her prison for all her worth!

The Demon of The Forest took a slow, purposeful step forwards.

The cave-dwelling man reached sideways and picked up a small dagger.

He spoke again, though his words meant nothing to the two humans, and Howl gave no indication he'd heard him.

He was watching the man rigidly, like a predator ready to leap on their prey…

He took another step forwards.

The man suddenly yelled and charged - weapon held high - and Howl's reaction looked instinctive.

He placed his left leg in front - towards the man's weapon - and brought his left forearm up against the man's wrist, preventing him from attacking, and at the exact second his offense had been halted, the Pokémon brought his right paw around and struck at the man's temple, stunning him. Then he twisted his left paw, grabbed his opponent's hand and tugged the knife out from his grasp.

All this had transpired in barely a few short seconds when Howl stepped back from his dazed opponent, raised a powerful leg and thrust it hard into his chest.

The man was thrown off his feet and crumpled against the back wall as the Pokémon drove his weapon straight into the wall beside him and snapped the handle off the blade as if it were a twig.

Knowing he would meet no further resistance, Howl strode over to the cage, closed a paw around the bars and wrenched the door off its hinges completely, letting it fall with a clatter.

Breathing heavily once more, Howl reached into the cage and held out his paw.

The tiny, twittering Pidgey stumbled clumsily towards him and hopped into his palm as he gently lifted her out.

The Demon of The Forest spoke softly and held the little creature close to his chest, letting her feel the warmth of his fur and the beating of his heart, conveying to her that this was not a dream, that it was real, that she was free at long last.

"Please," he said, returning to the two behind him, "could one of you hold her for me?"

Immediately Rowan approached and cupped his hands together.

"Be careful," said Howl as he passed her over, "She is very weak…"

"I will," he replied, and true to his word, Rowan held the little creature as carefully as if it were made of glass.

The Pidgey lay shivering on its side and breathing erratically as miniscule streams of water fell from its eyes and began to form a puddle in Rowan's palms.

Sally felt an overwhelming rush of pity and brushed her index finger across its cream-coloured feathers, wiping away the strand of tear.

'It's… crying,' she thought all of a sudden, 'A Pokémon… is _**crying**_ …!'

Howl's paw was withdrawn from her line of view and he turned slowly back to face his fallen attacker.

"Explain."

It was no more than a single word, and yet Sally and Rowan each felt an unnatural chill pass over their bodies at the sound of his voice.

The cave-dwelling man stuttered, and barely seconds after he had formed what they could be sure were separate words, Howl snarled,

"Don't play dumb with me…!"

The man's voice grew desperate.

"To what purpose…" Howl began, his tone deceptively calm,

"…HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING A HELPLESS, INNOCENT CHILD LOCKED IN A CAGE?!"

Sally almost cried out and clasped her hands on either side of her head, feeling as though her skull had just been split across the middle.

Her whole being had convulsed in pure shock, and despite no vocal sounds being made whatsoever, Howl's voice had left a ringing in her ears that was almost deafening.

She couldn't even hear the man's response, and suddenly she found herself being buffeted out of the way as Howl strode past them, dragging the man along the ground behind him.

The man struggled and beat against the Pokémon's paw, trying to free himself, but to no avail, and was dragged around the corner towards the exit.

A small click went off in her mind, snapping her out of her reverie, and Sally hurried after them and clutched the Pokémon's shoulder.

"Howl! Wait! Calm down, please! He's clearly not right in the head - We don't know the full story here!"

Howl gave no response or acknowledgement of what she'd said but to reach with his free arm and forcibly dislodge her grasp.

"Howl!" she implored.

The man suddenly reached for her and grabbed tightly onto her skirt. She pulled herself free, horrified and disgusted simultaneously, wanting to reason with their guide and save this poor, mindless fool from what was surely about to come, but was prevented from taking another step by the very stranger she wanted to protect!

"Howl! The soldiers! The villagers and even the burglars!

You didn't kill _**them**_! Please!"

As they reached the outside, the man finally began to relent his struggling and allowed himself to be dragged away for only a few moments more when Howl came to an abrupt halt and hurled him viciously forwards.

Sally felt a wave of cold billow over her and sprinted after them, refusing to believe what she had just seen!

As she drew close, however, she heard the fall end considerably earlier that she'd been expecting.

As she struggled to stop herself, she heard the man groan and saw him struggle to his feet on the ground a few feet below, close – dangerously so – to the edge off the cliff, but still had not fallen beyond it.

He backed away weakly, his arms raised, and spoke directly to the Pokémon who walked right up to the threshold of the ledge and glared down at him.

"Kill you?" he said coldly, "…That was not my intention. Make no mistake, human, I care nothing for you. Just looking at you disgusts me and fills me with rage…!

…But your life isn't mine to take.

Now, get out of here. This is my cave now, you hear me? _**Mine**_! Consider it a bargain for me to not beat you to a pulp right where you stand."

The man's eyes widened and he gestured to the area around him as he spoke with a definite note of desperation and panic.

The Pokémon laughed: a cold, humourless, bark of a sound.

"Well, how unfortunate for you. You should have thought about that before you charged at me with a knife.

We're not spending the rest of our lives here; we'll be gone by tomorrow, if not in a few hours.

…But.

If there is a hint of sanity left in you, let it be aware of this:

Do not try to follow us and get your little prisoner back. I do not ever wish to see you again. I won't look for you, nor will I so much as spare you a second's thought.

…But if you _**ever**_ dare show your face to me…"

Sally heard a low, thunderous rumble and glanced sideways to see the flame-red eyes narrowed and white teeth bared in a snarl,

"I will make sure… that you know the suffering you have caused that child!

Every. Last. _**Shred**_ of it."

The man backed away on trembling legs, muttering and lips quivering.

"Now…" Howl said, lifting his paws and creating a sphere of the same dark colour as the fire that still wreathed around his whole body, licking at the air and hissing ever so silently,

"Spare me your mindless babbling…

and leave my sight!"

Howl twisted his upper-body round and threw the sphere down directly at the ground beside the man. Upon impact, the sphere burst in an outward rush of blue haze and lifted him off his feet a second time and landing on his back, where he rolled over at once and scampered away in the direction they had come from.

The rain hammered down on them as they watched him disappear from view.

The instant he was gone, Sally heard a groan.

Howl's paw clutched at his stomach, and he managed to stagger away from the edge before she caught him by the shoulders.

"Hey! You all right?"

Out the corner of her eye she saw the flames slowly diffuse - or rather, shrink back into the Pokémon as his breathing became more rattled. They had not been true fire, she thought: they were something beyond her understanding. Something the Pokémon had utilised that slept within his very own body – and his body was to where they would return.

"Not… exactly…" he answered, "I've… felt better."

Rowan stepped out from the cave's mouth and took hold of his shoulders too, and together they steered him back out of the rain, where Rowan finally had the privilege of putting his lantern to use.

"Oh man…!" he gasped as the light fell upon their guide's spoiled waist and leg.

"You've lost quite a bit of blood," said Sally, swallowing down bile.

"Hah… Well… that explains a lot," said the Pokémon, smirking slightly.

"I-I don't think you appreciate just how serious this is!" said Rowan, "Sally? What do we do?"

"What?! Why are you asking me – I don't know!"

"Well, I sure don't know either!"

She ran her hands through her hair desperately,

"Uh… S-Stitching! We need to clean it, stitch it and dress it! We need a needle, and I-I think I have some thread in my pack."

"No!" Howl snarled, grabbing her wrist, "No… What I need… is Oran Berries. For now… just stop the bleeding. Use a rag – anything'll do, just stop the bleeding and find Oran Berries…"

"How can you think about food at a time like this?!" said Rowan.

"But… how?" said Sally, "They can't grow all the way out here in the mountains, can they?"

"As a matter of fact, yes they can, and do," he replied, "Oran Trees… are almost everywhere…"

The Pidgey stumbled on her weakened little legs, but fluttered lightly up onto Howl's chest-spike and stared, transfixed at the dark, open wound below. She made a low chirp, which meant nothing to Sally and Rowan, but a smile curved Howl's lips and he responded vocally,

"I'll be better soon. I don't need you to worry about me…"

She gazed up at him with melting eyes and chirped again before flapping her wings once, twice, and finally taking to the air.

"Wait," he said, and looked to Rowan and Sally again before switching back to his telepathy.

"Sally… come closer."

She was hesitant, but obeyed.

"Hold still…"

The Pokémon reached a paw forwards and touched a finger to her forehead, and at once her mind's eye was flooded with the crisp-clear image of a small tree, barely reaching up to her knees, in full bloom and bearing large, round blue fruits at the ends of its jagged branches.

"That is what I need you to find," said the Pokémon's voice, and as she felt his touch withdraw, the image vanished in a heartbeat, and she struggled to collect and memorise every little detail before it was lost.

"But… where?" she asked.

For an answer, Howl and the flying Pokémon spoke to one another before he returned her gaze,

"She will guide you to one she finds. Bird-Pokémon have exceptional eyesight. She's young, but I'd still wager her vision is better than all of ours put together when she takes to the open air."

Sally was silent for a moment or two, digesting the information she'd been given.

"Just find those trees?" she asked, ignoring Rowan's demands for explanation.

"And bring back as many of those berries as you can carry," Howl confirmed.

She nodded.

"OK, got it."

-and with that, she emptied the contents of her rucksack onto the floor there and then, sifting through it all until she found a small towel and folded it over twice before grabbing a roll of bandages and stealing a nervous glance up at the Pokémon. He nodded his approval, and she placed the towel firmly over the wound, wrapped the bandages over and over and tied the knot as tight as she dared.

He gritted his teeth, but did not allow the faintest of sounds to escape him.

"Thank you," he said, "Now go. And please… do be quick."

She grabbed Rowan's arm and pulled him along, confused and angry in her wake, and with one final worried glance and a chirp, Pidgey followed after them, leaving Howl alone.

He growled as he clutched his injury.

"Nice going, Guild-Mon…" he grumbled, "Becoming a burden to the ones you're supposed to protect… Good job…"

* * *

 _Authors Note:_

 _Sorry for the delay on this one, but I was working an apprenticeship for the last month and didn't have as much time to write as I would have liked. Hope this chapter was up to scratch and don't worry - I'm already about halfway done on the next one and have every intention of posting it up this month and getting back on schedule._

 _Just wanted to say a quick thank-you to some recent peoples who have left guest reviews and another thanks to those who have started following this story!_

 ** _Thank you very much._**

 _If you were to leave a review - however small - it would help more than you know. It could be as simple and straight-to-the-point as:_

"-/10

I want to see more of *****."

 _Tell me about anything - the first detail that pops into your head!_

 _What you like / don't like about the characters, the way the story is heading, the writing itself - even the overall premise._

 _If you have the time, it would be great to let me know._

 _-Alright, I'm out!-_


	15. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen:**_

 _ **The encounter**_

* * *

He closed his eyes at last and began to search the Aura nearby. It proved to be difficult: as every few moments, wave after wave of sickly pain rushed over his mind and clouded his senses, leaving a weight pressing down on his whole body and a vile taste on his tongue.

He had found, some time ago, that in order to attain complete focus on navigating the Aura when he was in pain, he could not try to ignore it as one would initially think; as ignoring the pain and focusing his senses were two entirely different directions of thought. If he was to focus his mind on one clear goal, he would have to accept the pain rather than try to push it away.

'Yes…' he thought, breathing slowly and deliberately,

'Yes, I know…

It _**is**_ there…

It _**is**_ real…

And it _**does**_ hurt…'

And after a minute, he found that the pain was not so great anymore, and let his mind flow like a gentle stream's current into a keen, perceptive nature where he was aware of the smallest things and let nothing escape his awareness.

The steady drumming of the rain crashing down upon the mountain's surface. The moisture in the air and the occasional ruffle against his fur as a breath of wind snuck into the cave's walls, and the smell of the sodden dust that was carried by it.

Then he found it.

It was a feeling similar to that of scouring the fields in the distance for something one had seen but only just now lost, camouflaged against the expanse of green only to suddenly find it once again and hold it to their attention.

The tiniest flicker of Aura nudged at the edges of his mind and he focused immediately on it, allowing it to creep steadily over him.

Finally he succeeded, and from beneath his closed eyes he saw the space all around him enveloped in that familiar silvery glow, along with the trails of Aura left as those present in the cave had moved to and fro, smaller and more transparent with the time that had passed, larger and more cloudy in the places they had been in mere minutes before.

He followed the trail of bright gold and clear blue out into the open until he located his two companions, and allowed his whole being to relax and observe. Once he had managed to pinpoint the frame of mind required to see the Aura, he never had any difficulty keeping it intact.

The Bird-Pokémon flew down from above and twittered in the air before her.

"Did you find 'em?" she asked breathlessly.

The little creature chirped.

She guessed it meant yes.

"Come on, Rowan!" she urged, scrambling up the slippery slope as the Bird-Pokémon flew ahead.

He watched the gold hurry after the tiny spec of mint-green whilst the blue struggled to keep up with them both.

"Sally, slow down! We shouldn't split up!"

"We can't afford to slow down! Not even for a second! You saw him! You saw how badly he's been hurt!"

She pulled herself up onto level ground and immediately continued after the flying Pokémon, waiting until Rowan had at least seen where she was headed before hurrying onward.

By that point, she was exhausted. How far had they gone from the cave? How much further would they have to climb?

She was leaning against the mountain wall and sweating despite the chill in the air. But a moment's thought of that dark wound was enough to send a jolt to her nerves and make her pull herself along the wall in pure desperation.

He watched as they moved onward, judging by the structure that nature's Aura took what kind of terrain they were climbing.

Her body felt as if it weighed as much as lead as she trudged through the wet, powdery ground. She heard, for the final time, a high chirrup ahead and saw the flying Pokémon head sideways into a gap in the wall, and, hoping against the odds that the end of their search was near, followed suit, barely noticing the strangely shaped surface of the ground she walked on.

Howl gasped as he felt a wave of cold shock course through him.

"No…!"

He had seen something. He had sensed it. Felt its presence.

"Sally…! Rowan…!"

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand. At once, he felt his legs begin to buckle and he put an arm on the wall to steady himself, blood speeding through his brain.

He grunted, trembled and groaned as he forced his weakened body to regain its lost strength.

He stumbled, feeling a little more stability in his legs with each step he took, and tried with all his might to reach their minds with his telepathy, knowing in his heart that even with his full strength, the distance between them was simply too great.

He breathed a deep lungful of cold air and managed to force himself to break into a jog, his right paw held over the blood-soaked towel.

Sally turned the corner and saw a large, circular space right before her eyes. The walls were formed of smooth rock, but the ground, to her surprise, was verdant like a meadow, grass and wildflowers alike flattened by the sky's deluge.

She tugged the front of her hood forwards to shield her eyes and looked around the place until she caught sight of tiny fluttering wings.

"Where are they?" she asked, casting about below.

The Pidgey made a note and she followed its gaze.

"Wha-?

…So they… grow pretty tall, huh?"

The tree she found herself to be standing before was not at all what she remembered being shown in her mind.

The tree (or trees) she had been expecting had been relatively small, but what stood before her was a gargantuan in both height and bulk.

She imagined it would surely take days for it to be cut down.

Up in the midst of its canopy she saw bright-blue orbs hanging here and there around it, and knew at once that they were the Oran Berries they desperately needed.

She made to climb it, but realised there was not a single branch or uneven space for her to grip onto.

"Have you found them?"

She answered,

"Yeah."

-as Rowan joined her by the great tree's roots.

"How're we supposed to get up there?"

Before she could reply, the flying Pokémon fluttered up to one of the large round fruits and clutched its sides between her feet, her wings working furiously, and broke the stalk with her beak. She then hovered in the air above them and chirruped again before letting it fall.

"Hey, that's pretty cool!" said Rowan as Sally straightened up. (She had only just managed to catch it.)

"Even a little Pokémon like that can be helpful."

His eyes moved up to the Pidgey, and his smile was immediately brushed away as he shot to his knees as she had done and managed to catch the Oran Berry a split-second before it hit the ground.

He dug his claws into the earth before him as he struggled up the slope, watching the menacing Aura draw closer and closer towards his companions' position.

If he could just manage to catch up and draw it away before it saw them…

"Okay, d'you think we've got enough?"

She couldn't be sure. The little Pokémon who had first introduced her to their healing qualities had seemed to have used dozens before she had taken over, but in hindsight, Howl's wound had been considerably deeper at the time…

"Yeah, that oughta be enough," she said.

'And if it turns out not to be, we'll just have to come back and get more,' she finished in her head. They had wasted enough time here, and needed to get back and at least begin to heal their guide before his blood loss was too great.

It appeared that Rowan was of the same mind, for as soon as she had replied, he had shown all the signs of haste and worry.

Shouldering her backpack once more and with the Bird-Pokémon leading the way, they began to head towards the exit, but then she slipped and fell to all fours.

"Come on, Sally!" Rowan groaned.

"Sorry!"

But then she did a double-take. She had placed her foot on something smooth, unstable, and slick with rain. The ground where she had almost fallen was barren of foliage, and as she glanced at it, Sally saw why.

"Are those…" she said, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck prickle,

"...bones?"

Rowan came cautiously closer and helped her to her feet.

His face went pale, and she felt suddenly faint.

"You don't think that guy from before did all this…?"

She couldn't answer.

She noticed the shapes and sizes of some particular bones among the heap, and felt sickened when she saw how some of them had been split into pieces.

"No," she said.

'No way… He was nuts, but… surely a human with a knife couldn't… _**Wouldn't**_ …'

The Pidgey came fluttering back to them and gave a screech of the exact same kind when she had been imprisoned: high, rolling, terrified!

"What?!" said Rowan as she flapped her wings in his eyes, "What did I-"

But he never got to finish his sentence, because the Pidgey had given another screech and begun flapping her wings at Sally instead.

"Cut it out!" she snapped as the Pidgey seized her ear in her beak and tried to pull, flapping and tugging only to finally let go and screech at her again.

Then, from just out of sight, they heard a snarl from outside the clearing, closely followed by heavy, pounding footsteps.

The Bird-Pokémon suddenly lowered its voice and twittered urgently before speeding towards the Oran Tree and vanishing inside its canopy.

The footsteps steadily drew nearer towards the opening in the enclosure, and a sudden fear took hold of them both. They hurried back towards the tree as well and hid behind it just as there came another snarl, alarmed and suspicious, as the footsteps slowed down upon entering the clearing.

Slowly, they sank to the ground, edging round as the footsteps moved past from one end of the clearing to the other. Rowan had sweat dripping down his brow and his breathing was heavy, but other than that he made no sound. Sally on the other hand was petrified! Who was this intruder? _**Why**_ did they frighten her so much? Could they be the one responsible for…?

Rowan whispered to her and grabbed her arm gently.

"Sally."

She looked at him, wide-eyed.

"Come on. It's looking away. Let's go, quickly!"

"No…!"

She shook her head, but Rowan peered towards the creature again and dragged her along behind him as he made a wild dash for the exit.

She was horrified and infuriated beyond all comprehension, but pressed her free hand to her mouth and fought to keep her voice as quiet as possible.

The creature made a sound as though it had heard something, and she looked towards it. At the other end of the clearing with its back to them, she saw what was unmistakeably a Pokémon standing on two large stumps for legs, bearing a row of four spikes down the back of its large, grey body, two arms that - although were relatively small - looked very powerful, and a large tail with six paper-thin black stripes circling its surface from the base to the tip.

It began to turn its head towards them, but they were already at the exit and managed to escape from sight not a moment too soon.

They hurried towards the slope and down it as quickly as they could, rounded the corner and backed against the wall as they crossed the top of a slant. There was barely a moment to breathe a sigh of relief when Sally noticed a large shadow appear over Rowan's figure, and saw a trail of dust douse top of his hood.

"Nuh…!"

She couldn't even speak! Her lungs had constricted in horror!

The shadow moved - shrank in size only to grow massive in a heartbeat before it vanished from sight.

"ROWAN!"

Sally had leapt at his shoulders and pushed him out of harm's way a mere second before the creature had landed right where they stood.

The force caused their footing to crumble and Sally and Rowan were sent tumbling down the mountain wall, rocks and dirt following and colliding against their bodies until they crumpled on the ground below.

A sound echoed clearly through the open air; a snarl and loud rebounding thuds drawing closer, closer and closer until the loudest thud of all forced Sally's eyes open as something heavy skidded past where they lay, scattering grass and mud up in its path. Amidst the falling earth, Sally saw that very same long grey tail and cast about for Rowan, but he was nowhere in sight! She tried to lift herself off the ground, but as she allowed a minimum of her weight into her legs, a surge of pain shot through her shin, preventing her from standing!

The ground trembled beneath her as she sensed the creature approaching.

"NO!" she heard, and saw something move behind the creature's monstrous frame,

"Get… BACK!"

She saw what looked like a broken tree branch swing round from behind the Pokémon and strike it across its head.

The Pokémon did not so much as flinch, and the branch was splintered against its rock-hard skin.

It turned round to face its attacker, who recoiled as it began to approach him instead.

"Rowan!"

She tried to stand, tried to crawl, but her leg would not allow it!

"Rowan!"

The creature snarled and swiped with a clawed-hand, and Sally heard the voice of her dearest friend yelp – but not in pain!

The creature stamped its heavy feet as it closed in on Rowan, swiping at him again and again until she caught a fleeting glimpse of him dart to the side to try and escape – but the Pokémon had been waiting for this.

Rowan had barely gone a couple of steps before the Pokémon spun around and swept its massive tail along the ground.

Rowan did not merely trip – he was knocked head-over-heels by the strength of the blow and landed hard on his back.

The Pokémon drew in close, seized his leg and clawful of his hair, lifted him into the air and hurled him brutally down before immediately lifting him again and hurling him down once more.

Sally cried his name – but could do nothing to help! The pain was non-existent to her as she fought with all her heart to stand up, but one leg alone was not enough to support her and she collapsed on all fours.

Rowan's voice cried out as he was thrown across the clearing and landed against the rock wall, and on the ground he lay, unmoving, as the creature began to approach him, raising its claws high.

"ROWAN!"

The Pokémon's arm had twitched with the movement of striking a split-second before a dark-blue streak had shot towards it and burst in a cloud of blue haze. The attacker staggered back, its stubby arms clutching at its head, and then Sally heard rocks clatter down overhead as a familiar figure leapt into the air and let out a roar that rebounded off the walls and sliced through the dark clouds. The attacker had not even a moment to react before Howl landed right on top of it and struck a mighty blow at its head. The creature cried out and shook itself as the strike was followed by more, crashing and thudding against its skull until it snarled again and lurched over, driving its snout into the earth with just enough power to dislodge its foe. The Pokémon saw Howl at last and roared, lifted a boulder that had fallen from the slope and hurled it at him. Howl leapt out of the way, saw his quarry charging towards him and sprang forward, seized the horn on its head and flipped round so that his feet perched on its back, where he drew his paw and struck with Force Palm, sending it stumbling straight into the wall.

Howl panted, wiping mud off his muzzle, and observed his opponent as they fought their way out of the fissure they had made.

'A Rhydon…' he thought, and then he caught sight of its face; the wide, glowing eyes; the yellowing teeth; its body covered in mud, grime, and all kinds of filth.

'Yes…' he realised grimly, 'No doubt about it. This one's been Feral for quite some time…'

He was brought out of his reverie by the sound of crumbling stone and caught a moment's warning of a rock being hurled at him again. There was no time for him to avoid it, but just enough for him to shield his head with his arms – the spikes on his forepaws luckily absorbing most of the impact as the Rhydon charged a second time.

'Well-' he thought as he leapt over his attacker again, who skidded to try and stop itself, '-guess there's no point trying to reason with him, then…'

He thought of his companions, and then his expression hardened.

'A Rock-Type. Feral. Nowhere to run, no way to restrain it, and here I am on an escort mission…

…Looks like I'll have to handle this the old-fashioned way.'

The Feral Rhydon charged at him again, but Howl was ready for it this time. It was a difficult technique, but he managed to use Extreme Speed to launch himself forwards at an angle and immediately followed up with a Force Palm at his opponent's chest. He jumped up as the Rhydon fell back and instinctively fired an Aura Sphere down, landing on its stomach amidst the haze and unleashing a torrent of strikes at its entire upper-body. The Rhydon's horn suddenly began to glow, and Howl leapt back off it as it unleashed Horn Attack at the space he had been in not a moment before.

The Feral Rhydon sprang to its feet and roared before bounding up into the air, flipping round and using the combined powers of the drill-like, cream-coloured horn on its snout and claws to burrow its way underground.

Howl straightened up and listened intently. The Feral had not run away. He could hear it below, clawing through the earth, but through sound alone there was no way to tell where.

He glared at the place where it had disappeared.

"Hiding won't help you…" he said quietly. The feeling had not ebbed away completely, and so he closed his eyes, focused his mind and saw the familiar silver glow envelop the surrounding area. In no time at all, he found his quarry and held them to his attention, seeing a tumult of emotions alter the heart-beat waves, shaping them from rage to confusion to fear and then back into rage. His opponent was frightened, angered and most importantly, uncertain. Even they did not know what they would – or should do next, and that in itself made them much more dangerous than if their intentions had been clear…

He bent to one knee and placed a paw on the ground before him.

"I know you can understand me!" he said via telepathy, "You and I are not enemies! There is no need for us to fight each other! Calm yourself and leave now before this gets any worse!"

He saw the waves ripple peculiarly as though, for but a moment, the Rhydon had seriously contemplated his words. Then he saw the waves blaze with rage, and saw the Aura burrow its way through the earth towards one end of the clearing. Towards where their fight had begun.

Howl snarled, took a single step back to brace himself, and ran at full speed, overtaking his quarry below with just enough time to sling Rowan's limp figure over his shoulder and leap out of range as the Rhydon burst free in a shower of rocks, clay and mud.

Howl landed roughly, bending one knee to absorb the impact of their combined weight and spun round to catch the Rhydon's arm as it swung its claws at them, and before it had the chance to swing its free arm, Howl let go, slipped round to its side and unleashed Force Palm, his Move connecting right into his opponent's ribs with enough power to topple them over. He hurried towards Sally and lowered Rowan to the ground before her, and as he did, she saw that the bandage had come loose and the towel was gone.

His wound was bleeding freely again.

She reached for his arm to try and get his attention, but her fingers closed around empty space. She called him back as he leapt upon his hunched opponent and began to strike at them again, but received no acknowledgement. The Rhydon made to lurch forwards and hurl him off as it had done before, but as soon as it so much as raised its arms, Howl soared upward into the air with Extreme Speed, charged a moderate-sized Aura Sphere and hurled it back down, landing hard on the Rhydon's tail before using two simultaneous Force Palm's to launch it across the ground towards where the wall opened in the clearing.

As the two Pokémon stood apart from one-another, Sally could see the exertion clearly on each of them.

Their attacker was heavily battered and could barely manage to get up off the ground due to its own weight, but its expression and vocal sounds of fury were still all too noticeable.

Howl on the other hand looked as though he were almost finished. His breathing was heavy, his eyes glazed with exhaustion, and his powerful legs which had held him for so long were trembling violently.

The Guardian choked back his nausea, shook his head to rid the ringing in his ears, and squinted through his heavy eyelids.

'I wasn't ready for all this at once…' he thought, clutching his bleeding wound, 'But… it's nothing… I can't handle!'

The ringing returned and he shook his head again, fighting with all his will to remain standing. He thought of Sally and Rowan, and what would happen to them if he let himself fall now.

He remembered a certain voice speaking to him that very morning…

" _ **Thank you, sir…**_

 _ **Thank you so, so much…"**_

And then his own words; his own response:

" _ **You keep your promise to me, and I'll do the same."**_

His fingers curled into fists.

"I _**will**_ …!" he snarled, glaring straight into the blurred outline of the Rhydon before him,

"I gave my word…!"

Howl roared to the open air and charged, feinted to left and right and used Extreme Speed to soar straight past his foe, landing feet-first against the wall to the side and propelled himself onto the Rhydon's back. The Feral roared in pain with every strike that followed, but could not begin to counter them before Howl vaulted over to its front and struck with two final Force Palms, sending his opponent flying towards the large opening in the rocky wall, where it landed hard on the ground with its upper-body still inside the clearing. It made to stand again, but began to struggle and flail its arms, gripping clawfuls of grass and mud.

Panting; exhausted; Howl walked over to the opening and stood beside the Rhydon.

The slope was dangerously steep. If he were to fall, he would not be likely to survive. But the Rhydon…?

He peered further down and saw the rock formation jutting out here and there down the slope until it finally came to the river far below. He glanced over at the Rhydon's tough, rock-hard hide and saw it dragging its feet along the slope to try and clamber up again.

Howl raised his paw not clutching his wound and began to charge an Aura Sphere, walking slowly round until he stood right before his foe.

They looked at each other briefly, his expression set and cold whilst the Rhydon's was filled with savage loathing.

The Rhydon snarled and swung its right foot up onto level ground – but by then Howl had already thrust his paw down and turned away as the Aura Sphere burst upon the very ground his quarry held onto.

The Rhydon clawed and scrabbled against the slope, but its weight was too much, and it slid down immediately.

Howl closed his eyes and heard it collide into the uneven spaces – hopefully slowing down its momentum – before he heard it land into the river with a deafening crash.

He waited, his breath held.

Then, a little way into the distance, he heard the Rhydon's roar and as it struggled to reach the surface – alive, but wounded deeply from their battle, and above all, unable to reach them again.

He let out the breath he'd been holding, but found that opening his eyes again was just too difficult…

Every fibre of Sally's body convulsed.

Howl began to topple, the little of his face she could see deeply exerted as he collapsed onto the sodden earth.

"No."

She sprinted across the clearing, forgetting about her wounded leg and fell to her knees.

"No, no, no…"

She distantly heard Rowan mumble himself awake as she crawled towards their guide.

"Howl," she pleaded, turning him round onto his back.

His eyes were shut, his mouth hung slightly open, and his breathing was near-inaudible.

"Please! Wake up. You've got to!"

Her words yielded no response. Not even the slightest indication that they had been heard.

She swung her backpack to the ground and fought with shaking fingers against the straps.


	16. Chapter 15

_**Chapter fifteen:**_

 _ **Treasure Town Razed**_

" **Howl?"**

 **His paws shook, and he gripped the rim of the pool.**

" **Who were they, Guildmaster?" he asked, his voice unsteady, "The attackers? …Feral?"**

 **It was unlikely, he thought. Feral were only ever known to work alongside other Feral if the two in question were a symbiotic species; and even then, the instant one had worn out its usefulness, they were (if lucky) driven away by their companion.**

" **No," was Wigglytuff's reply, "They weren't."**

 **His grip tightened even further, and his trembling was transferred up the length of his arms.**

" **But, then…!"**

 **It made no sense! If not Feral, who would do something like this?! Who would attack and destroy an innocent little town whose citizens were no more than merchants and loving families? There was still, of course, the presence of a famous guild, but if the grudge had been against Wigglytuff, why had the whole town been burned to ash?!**

" **Howl…"**

Sally groaned and hefted his arm over her shoulders as Rowan took hold of the opposite arm, and together they began their awkward, dangerous limp back towards the cave, barely resting for a single second after they had managed to climb – along with Howl's lifeless body – back up the slope's rugged surface.

" **Howl, you… may find it hard to believe me, but… I swear I'm telling you the truth. The attackers weren't Feral.**

 **They were something else. Something… worse."**

" **Worse?"**

 **He heard a faint rustle, and then the Guildmaster entered through the curtain hiding them from each other's view and walked right up to his side.**

" **Howl," he said at last, staring into his own reflection, "Have you… heard of a place called Icicle Forest? It's often spoken of in myths and fairy-tales, but there's always been evidence of it actually existing somewhere on cold, frozen land."**

" **Icicle Forest?" he echoed.**

 **Wigglytuff looked at him, his one-eyed expression that of mild surprise.**

" **You haven't heard of it?"**

" **I…"**

 **He hesitated. The name was not all unfamiliar to him.**

" **I've heard the name before, but none of the stories or myths."**

" **Seriously?"**

 **He shook his head plainly. He had never had the time to indulge in myths and fairy-tales. At least, not of his own choice, due to the work he had been assigned at the very guild he was in, and thanks to the very Pokémon that stood beside him.**

 **Whenever he had been put into a group to go and investigate the rumours of a strange place or sent to uncover the mysteries of some ancient ruins, it had always been at Wigglytuff's instruction.**

" **Well…" Wigglytuff went on, "I suppose the fairy-tales and myths aren't really what's important. But they do all point to one conclusion about it:**

 **Icicle Forest is a barren, lifeless place hidden somewhere deep in the land of snow. It's said that eventually – once you've travelled deep into its depths, the environment around you begins to behave strangely. Not because you're hallucinating from the cold or exhaustion – what you see happening is** _real_ **. But of course… explorers dismiss it all as hallucinations and keep on going in their search. It's said that eventually… you see large floating icicle shards in the air around you, growing gradually bigger and bigger as you head further in. But by the time you've realised just where you are – at least this is what the stories all say – it's already too late. You won't have the strength to leave."**

" **Why?" he asked. How could the Guildmaster have forsaken the chance to send them to find a place like this?! A place wrapped in danger and mystery!**

 **As if he had sensed what Howl had been thinking, Wigglytuff looked at him desolately.**

" **Oh, Howl… Searching for Icicle Forest became a taboo even stronger than that of taking another's life…! I could never, ever, ever risk sending my friends there!"**

 **He paused, lips quivering.**

" **There's some kind of power – or curse in that horrible place… Maybe a trap set by an incredibly powerful Ghost-Type Pokémon…!**

 **The floating icicles in the Icicle Forest…. sap out an intruder's soul. Their spirit, their mind... everything. And it just leaves their bodies right where they are; empty shells waiting to be frozen and buried underneath the snow."**

They lowered him into the corner at the very end of the cave and Sally began to panic as she saw that the freshly-grown skin had not held, and the wound was bleeding all over again. The juice within Oran Berries was strong, but it was no miracle cure.

She felt around in her rucksack for more, but there was not a single one that was spherical any longer.

'The slope-!' she realised, 'When we fell-!'

She shook her head in utter disbelief and upended the berries onto the floor.

"No…!" she pleaded, "This is not happening…!"

Sally seized a cloth from the previous pile of her belongings and pressed it flat over the wound, holding one hand over the other and applying all the pressure she could muster.

Every nerve was on edge and her eyes felt as though they were melting in their sockets as she turned her gaze around.

"Rowan!" she said, "Please, I know it wasn't easy, but my leg is really messed up – You've got to go back and-"

"I know," he said at once, getting to his feet and gripping her shoulder, "I'll go back for more."

"You've got to hurry!" she implored, "The two of us won't last up here – if he dies, we're as good as dead!

And he-!

He's lost so much already! I don't know how much more he can stand to lose!"

Rowan hastened to the corner and darted out of sight, but then Sally heard his voice yelp and he recoiled back into the wall as there came a loud twittering sound and rapid flap of wings as the infant Bird-Pokémon came into view, clutching between her feet a round, blue object.

"Yes!" Rowan cried, snatching it from her grasp.

"Please!" he said, holding the berry with one hand and pointing to it with the other, "We need more! We need you to get more! And fast!"

"Please!" Sally reinforced, her eyes starting to leak hot tears down her battered cheeks.

The Pidgey looked to her and saw the squashed, useless berries on the ground and gave a high cry when she saw the Pokémon who had freed her lying limp against the cave's end. She fluttered towards him and perched on his muzzle, twittering and flapping her wings in his eyes to try and receive some response, and when none came, she screeched again and flew around the corner and out of the cave so fast it seemed as if any slight turn in the wrong direction could flatten her against a potential obstacle.

" **And that's not all," Guildmaster Wigglytuff continued before Howl had even recovered from the horror of his words, "It gets worse…! It was said in a few of the stories – but of course we all thought this was just made-up – that sometimes Ghost-Type Pokémon would try to brave the barren place in search of… victims.**

… **Living-but-empty bodies for them to inhabit."**

 **Howl forced back his revulsion and held his tongue, waiting for him to continue.**

" **A-And…!" said Wigglytuff, "We thought… We thought that maybe… They were the ones who had attacked our town! The Pokémon who we were up against were… strange. Different.**

… **Scary.**

 **They had these big, dark streaks all over them, and their eyes… they didn't have any irises, just the black bits, the pupils. But their pupils were… like a spec of red flame. They fought like Feral, but… they were even worse than that. Feral lose consciousness, Feral know when they can't win and try to escape. These Pokémon… they only attacked and nothing else. They didn't hold anything back, they didn't hesitate, they just attacked, attacked and they never, ever stopped!"**

 **Howl remembered what Chatot had said just outside the Guildmaster's chamber.**

" **So… when Chatot said he thought I was something called a Shadow…" he murmured, "he was talking about…"**

" **Mm-hmm," Wigglytuff replied, "Chatot gave them the name. He said it's because they're being controlled by someone else. Like an actual shadow. They look like us, but aren't actually us. Only ever following the command of the body, or in this case, the possessor."**

" **Was it Ghost-Type Pokémon who were the possessors?" Howl growled, "If they were sick enough to actually take control of those who went into Icicle Forest, then they wouldn't bat an-"**

" **No," said Wigglytuff, "No. It wasn't Ghost-Type Pokémon. They were once like us, remember? Alive and breathing. The only reason they would really take control of one of the empty bodies is so that they could live on, in a way; no longer restricted to the boundaries their spiritual forms have. They wouldn't do something like this all of a sudden… Not to so many poor Pokémon towns.**

… **Yes," He looked up at Howl as he made to clarify, "Yes, Howl.** _Towns_ **.**

 **This was more than a grudge against just Treasure Town. The possessor of the Shadows is a truly terrible Pokémon. Terribly powerful and terribly cruel. Just after the attack, when the Shadows suddenly withdrew, the sky turned a shade of red just like that of the Shadows' pupils… and we heard the voice of the one who'd tried to destroy us. He revealed who he was, how he had created his army, and just what his intentions were…"**

She burrowed her nails beneath the skin and pulled the berry apart, holding one half above the open wound before crushing it in her fist. The juice dripped freely, and soon after she had taken hold of the remaining half, the faintest of sounds was carried to her ears. It was a sound like bubbling liquid accompanied by a gentle hiss. But nothing would distract her, and she continued to dispense Oran juice as carefully and quickly as she could, Rowan seated behind her and breaking up those brought in by the young Pidgey every few minutes so that Sally could pour the juice in without pause.

" **Who was it, Guildmaster?"**

 **Wigglytuff's fingers clenched, and his arms shook as he stared into the pool.**

" **Why?!" Howl pleaded, "Why did they do it?!"**

 **Wigglytuff blinked, shook his head, met his gaze and responded,**

" **He called himself the Emissary of Nature. He claimed that we had turned our backs on our purpose by choosing to be Civilised. He said that nature's course for Pokémon kind had always been an entire race of Feral – where the strong survive and the weak are consumed – in his words – just as nature intended.**

 **But Chatot and I recognised the gigantic shadow – the actual 'shadow' – of the Pokémon in the clouds above us…"**

The Pidgey fluttered around the corner clumsily, the Oran Berry held precariously in her unscathed leg. Rowan took it from her and immediately she almost fell straight down to the ground and panted, her heavy breaths accompanied by a quiet little note each time. Sally crushed the berry she'd been holding over Howl's abdomen and made to reach for another, but Rowan caught hold of her wrist.

"Hold on. Let's leave it for a bit."

"But-"

"We've used, like, twenty of them already! Our only means of getting more is totally wiped out as it is. Let's check that the juice is working like you said it would before we use any more."

"But-" she said again,

"Sally, c'mon," said Rowan sharply, "this isn't you. I know, I know, we're out in the mountains, in a thunderstorm, getting attacked by nutcases and actual monsters, but come _**on**_! You never lose your cool like this. You're supposed to be the smart one!"

She looked into the face before her, the familiar dark-green eyes resolute as they had been ever since the very first time she had looked into them. He cocked his head to the side and smirked, scattering her nostalgia.

"True…"

The word came out as a croak. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"True… I _**am**_ the smart one."

"'Course you are."

Keeping a firm hold on her wrist, he lead her over to Howl's corner and they looked upon the effect that the Oran Berries had had.

" **Who was he?"**

 **Wigglytuff paused before finally answering.**

" **He is one of the Legendary Pokémon. His true name surrounded – like all Legendries – in stories of their deeds.**

… **He is called…**

 **Giratina."**

"There," she said, and together they took hold of his shoulders, steered him away from the wall and lowered him carefully onto the rug on the cave's floor, covering him with the dry sides of their cloaks and piling the softest items they had into a bag for a headrest.

"That should make him more comfortable…"

" **It all started about a week ago. It was just another sunny, peaceful day in our town when the sky turned dark, just like that. Then there was another glow right above us. A great, big red glow among black clouds darker than the abyss. And before anybody could react, rocks started falling from the dark clouds; big, flaming boulder-sized rocks rained down on the homes of Treasure Town."**

" **A Move? An attacker from the sky?"**

" **No.**

… **We thought so at the time, though, which was exactly what Giratina wanted. It was a trick. While we all had our noggins pointed up, trying to figure out who was attacking and where they were, the rocks were silently breaking apart.**

… **Inside the rocks were the Shadows. They leapt on us seemingly out of nowhere, and even as we got over the shock, more of them were raining down on us.**

 **And I…**

 **I-I…!"**

 **The water began to ripple and slosh about in its basin, and Howl became aware of a rumble in the ground at the same time noticing that Wigglytuff's face was screwed up in a bunch, his fists trembling and body outlined in a faint glow.**

" **Guildmaster!"**

 **He clutched his shoulders and shook him, a millisecond away from telling him to be calm, but remembering how that had fared the last time Wigglytuff had begun to lose control of his power.**

"… **Wigglytuff!"**

 **No Pokémon within the guild other than Chatot was permitted to call the Guildmaster by name, and such was the shock of Howl's insolence that Wigglytuff froze on the spot, turning his head towards him with his mouth stood ajar.**

" **Please!" Howl went on without allowing a moment of silence, "Tell me! I have to know!"**

" **I…!" Wigglytuff stammered, held back by the twister of his own emotions,**

" **I-I…!"**

 **Then he shut his eye tight and flung himself onto Howl and sobbed like a child.**

" **I didn't know what to do!" he cried, "Howl! For the first time since I'd become a Guildmaster, I didn't know what to do!"**

 **Howl froze, his arms hovering on either side of Wigglytuff's ears. He knew the Guildmaster well to be genuinely eccentric, but Howl had not been prepared to be embraced by him.**

 **He gripped his shoulders and dislodged the embrace.**

" **What happened?" he went on mercilessly.**

 **Wigglytuff sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his hand.**

" **Everyone but me was a hero," he said, "Chatot saved me and hid me from harm, and all the guild members and recruits focused as one on dividing into two big groups. The guild members had the job of holding back what was expected to be an army, and the recruits – being as there were lots more of them – to evacuate and protect the families and merchants.**

 **The Members were expecting to fight off an army, and they were right. There was just no end to them! After I'd seen how my friends had been brave and put everyone else's safety before theirs, after I'd seen how they were ready to fight every last attacker until the end, I… That's when I finally snapped out of it. I was their leader. They were my friends… and I knew I had to protect them!"**

 **There was no need for further clarification, Howl thought. Despite his veneer, Wigglytuff was utterly unrivalled when it came to battle, both in skill and the almost Legendary Pokémon standard of power he held.**

" **The guild recruits evacuated the town of innocents," Howl said, "Because in an instant it had changed from home into a battlefield..."**

 **There was a pause.**

" **So, then…"**

 **He looked up at Wigglytuff, feeling his desperation and anguish begin to melt away,**

" **Illume… She… She was with them, right? She's safe?"**

 **Wigglytuff met his gaze awkwardly and after a moment's hesitation, shook his head.**

" **No?**

 **What…**

 **What do you…**

 **What do you mean** _No_ **?!"**

" **Howl…" Wigglytuff's voice began to tremble, and his eyes started to shimmer.**

"… **Where have you been all this time? It's been so long, and we've heard nothing from you! Nothing!"**

 **Howl clenched his paws and bowed his head.**

 **The Guildmaster went on, giving him no respite,**

" **You said you'd come back, and everybody –** _everybody_ **believed you. Even Chatot! You never said you'd be gone for over a year! As time went on, some of the town Pokémon started to have doubts. Some thought something might've happened to you, and others thought differently. Then some of the recruits even started to worry. But still, despite everything, Illume** _never_ **stopped believing in you, and neither did I! We both knew there was no way you'd break your promise! We knew you'd come back! Even when all this happened, even though she could've saved herself by doing so, Illume refused to go along with the evacuation team!**

 **She said: 'Howl promised he'd come back! I'm not going anywhere until he does!'.**

 **But still… Giratina has continued to send down Shadows to find us, and we've already had to relocate to another hiding spot twice!"**

" **But here? In the guild? Surely-"**

" **We always had to remain close to Treasure Town, thanks to Illume. Chatot figured it was risky, but of all the places he wouldn't expect us to be, it'd be right back here in the guild. We've been able to stock up on supplies and medicines too."**

 **Howl's pulse began to speed faster than a Rapidash after a quarter-mile sprint.**

" **So Illume is here! She's in the guild too!"**

 **He leapt to his feet and ran towards the doorway, but,**

" **Howl, no!"**

 **suddenly Wigglytuff ran past him and stood directly in his path, blocking the way,**

" **You can't! You mustn't see her!"**

" **What? Guildmaster, I – Get out of my way!"**

 **Wigglytuff shook his head wildly and cried,**

" **No!**

 **No!**

 **No!**

 **No!**

 _NO_ **!"**

 **There was a sudden blinding flash, and Howl was knocked down by an unseen force.**

" **You can't," said Wigglytuff.**

" **I'm sorry, Howl. I really, really, am, but I… I think you should go."**

 **A gust of wind blew through the opening in the rocky wall and sent ripples over the water's surface as if to break the silence that fell.**

" **Go?" Howl echoed at last,**

" **I can't 'go'. I only just got here."**

" **She's different, Howl. If you show yourself to her now, I don't know what'll happen. And I don't want to find out. It's too dangerous. If she even knew you were here…!"**

 **He paused.**

" **When Chatot said we were going to go back into Treasure Town… it was like Illume had suddenly changed back into the little Chimchar we recruited along with you so long ago. For some reason, she** _expected_ **you to be here, waiting for us when we returned.**

 **The** _moment_ **Treasure Town came into view on our return, Illume sprinted off with no warning at all and started calling your name all over the place like she thought you were hiding underneath the wreckage somewhere. We looked too, but she literally didn't leave a single stone unturned. We stopped searching pretty soon, but she… It was like she just couldn't hear us. She searched the town three times, ran up and down to the guild twice, and searched the beach every time she passed it!**

 **When she finally stopped… she seemed to sort of freeze up. She just stared out into the ocean, standing right where she'd been when you left.**

 **I think she couldn't accept it.**

… **You weren't there. You hadn't come back. Out of all of us, she needed you most of all, and…"**

 **Howl's insides were aflame with self-resentment. And perhaps Wigglytuff had sensed this, for he gave a watery smile and helped him to his feet, saying,**

" **Howl… I… I knew you'd come back, though. Even though you'd been gone for so long, even though we had more reason to believe you weren't coming back, I… I just couldn't actually believe you'd broken your promise.**

 **This isn't how I'd imagined it to be, but… it's good to see you again. I'm glad that you're alright.**

 **Please… do this for me, not just because I'm the Guildmaster… Do this for me as my good friend among the guild recruits:**

 **Go. Save yourself. Be selfish for once in your life."**

 **Howl shook his head.**

" **Me being selfish is the whole reason I wasn't here for Treasure Town. The whole reason I wasn't here when the closest thing to family I have needed me. Even if I wasn't around when this started, I owe it to everyone to be here now."**

" **Howl! You don't understand! Illume is…!**

… **Look. You** _can't_ **be seen by her. First she refused to stop believing in you, then when it seemed hopeless, she was broken; crushed by it, and now… Now she's… angry.**

 **If you show yourself to her now, I don't know what she'll do, Howl."**

" **But still," Howl insisted, stepping closer adamantly, "I owe it to her!"**

 **Wigglytuff's glare was met with one with twice its force. A glare he had never once expected to see on Howl's face – familiar or evolved.**

" **I'm coming too," he conceded without withdrawing his expression, "And I'm going to see her first to let her know that… someone wants to talk to her. We need to do this carefully, Howl."**

" **Understood, Guildmaster."**

 **Wigglytuff nodded, turned on the spot without another word and lead the way back through his chamber and into the room where the guild members still stood, discussing amongst themselves what had transpired. Wigglytuff's pace declined slightly as the Lucario's name was mentioned and he looked hesitantly at him, but the recruit moved on stoutly. Illume was first on the list; he would have time to recover and steel himself once more before facing the guild members too.**

 **Wigglytuff and Howl headed through the corridor into the crew rooms, heading right to one at the very end which was covered, like the Guildmaster's secret room by a veil for a door.**

" **She's been resting in here," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "She might be asleep right now, or she might be awake. Either way, she's been just as beat-up as the rest of us, so if things do get… bad… you have to be careful with how you push her away.** _If_ **things get bad, that is."**

 **Howl nodded and remained behind as Guildmaster Wigglytuff exhaled deeply before knocking gently against the built-in sign on the wall beside the entrance.**

" **Illume?" he said, "It's the Guildmaster. Are you awake?"**

 **No response came from beyond the veil.**

" **Illume?"**

 **Again, nothing.**

" **I'm coming in, OK?"**

 **Wigglytuff stepped into the room and motioned for Howl to remain where he was. The recruit waited, straining his ears. Then there was a rustling sound, then the Guildmaster's voice gasped,**

" **No!" -and his footsteps thundered around beyond the veil, the word returning every few seconds.**

" **No, Illume, no! Why-?! Where-?!"**

 **Howl barged into the room and saw bedding laid in the centre with its covers tossed to the side, and then he saw Wigglytuff standing with his entire upper-body leaning directly outside the window.**

" **ILLUME!" he called, his voice echoing across the sky.**

 **Howl had barely opened his mouth to speak when Wigglytuff pulled himself back into the room and ran past him, nearly knocking him over.**

" **Everyone, move out, MOVE OUT!" Wigglytuff bellowed in his familiar commanding tone, "Illume has snuck out! Search the town!"**

" **Wha-!" Howl darted to the open window and leaned his own upper-body out, scouring the cliff's surface.**

 **Sure enough, beginning at the window and trailing along the side of the cliff were deep claw-marks in-between the jagged spaces.**


	17. Chapter 16

_**Chapter sixteen:**_

 _ **Scarred**_

* * *

Howl's eyes snapped open, his fur damp with cold sweat.

Darkness enveloped his surroundings, and there was a faint cool breeze that he felt, for some reason, nowhere except on his head. Slowly his memories caught up with him, and he remembered the wound on his abdomen.

He had felt sickened by the dull, and truly gut-rending pain, and the keen awareness of the dangerous amount of blood he had been losing had done nothing to help his mental state.

In the depths of his mind a voice wondered; was this it? Had he eluded the inevitable end long enough? Had it finally found him?

He tried to move. His limbs were still present – and working as they should be, but were unusually heavy and stiff. He breathed in a deep, slow lungful of cool air and picked up a small number of scents, two of which he recognised quite plainly.

So if those two particular humans were here, then…

With more difficulty than he'd been expecting, he managed to raise a paw up to his chest and felt a rapid beat against his palm.

Sally, who was seated with her back against the cave's wall, heard a low, hoarse exhale and whipped her head round towards its source.

When she dimly saw a familiar shadowy outline moving, she was left speechless. She felt for Rowan's lantern and lit it before crawling towards the Pokémon.

"You're OK…"

How strange her voice had sounded. How shaken, how timid, how very unlike her own.

Howl's voice came through to her.

"Whe-"

But the voice had not even finished the first word of a sentence before it fell silent again.

"Sorry?" she replied.

Howl clenched his teeth and tried again.

"Where-"

-and again he broke off. Something was wrong. Every time he attempted to talk, the beginning of one word alone was all she could make out before some uncanny sound would drift in and drown out his voice.

"I-I can't-" she began helplessly, before the Pokémon tried a third time, and for a moment all she heard was the sound of that eerie interference before the Pokémon groaned and clutched his skull, eyes clenched shut, teeth bared and in unmistakeable agony.

"Stop!" she said, "If it's straining you, then stop it.

We're back in the cave. All of us. Rowan's here – he woke up after you defeated that other Pokémon. He's fine. A little shaken up, but he's fine. Well, we're both shaken up, but alive. We're all alive."

A minute passed. Then the Pokémon's paws released his skull and he seemed to relax a little.

"Wat-…"

What?" she said. He moved his right paw to point at something and said the word again,

"Wa-r…"

"Oh," she said, "Right, yeah, of course. Water. Water…"

She reached for her luggage and took out a flask, poured its contents into the lid and handed it carefully to him as he propped his back on the wall. The instant the cup was out of her grasp, it slipped out of his and clattered onto the ground, the clear liquid dousing the earth between them.

The Pokémon groaned irritably and tried to retrieve it, but she said at once,

"No, no, no – it's okay," -picked up the lid once more, filled it again and edged in a little closer,

"It's okay…"

She brought the cup to his mouth and tipped it cautiously up, allowing first a small amount in, then a little more, and then refilling it before repeating the process until the flask was depleted by at least half of its contents.

The Pokémon rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, breathing deeply, until he half-opened them again and forced a weak smile at her.

"You…" she murmured. Her eyes were beginning to burn, and her voice shook.

" _ **How**_ …? You were stabbed and bleeding out – but you lived. You fought off an _**entire**_ village by yourself, five armed soldiers, and then that… that other Pokémon…"

She shook her head, and the tears she'd fought so hard to repress began to fall freely down her cheeks.

" _ **How**_ …? How are you still alive?"

His expression was nothing short of amused as he held his palms up in a clueless gesture.

A hoarse laugh escaped her and she wiped her eyes on her hand.

"How do you feel?"

His expression darkened. He knew all too well how to describe what he was feeling – and was not unfamiliar to it, but that made it no more welcome to him.

He felt sickened to his very core.

Beneath his skin he felt a burning heat that threatened to engulf his entire being, and outside it he felt as though the air was like that of the frozen tundra clawing away at his flesh and leaving him numb all over. His limbs ached, his throat was dry and sore, and his head felt as though it would split open by the lightest tap.

He lifted his arm and pointed again to the flask, and she refilled the cup once more, but this time he held it without her assistance. When the flask was empty, through tired eyes he looked at her and raised his right paw to his chest – at the very tip of the spike – and bowed his head to her before lowering himself awkwardly onto the bedding, closing his eyes, and falling back asleep.

When she was sure of his slumber, she felt a wild desire to embrace the weakened creature – the Pokémon who had fought so hard and continued to do so for them and them alone, the creature who refused to die until their safety was ensured! She felt they didn't deserve such a noble protector, she felt that he had done nothing to deserve the suffering he was undergoing on their behalf! All she wanted to do was run out into the wide, open world and find some miracle cure that would relieve him of all his pain.

It would be the least she could do after all he had done.

"You okay?"

Rowan's voice spoke from directly beside her. She hadn't heard him approach.

"Yeah." She heard her own voice and looked away towards a rock beside her ankle,

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

Silence reigned for several seconds.

Rowan went on softly,

"Hey. Ever since we were kids, you've always done your best, haven't you? No matter how impossible it seemed, you always wanted to at least try. We've used everything we have on us – treated him every way we could think of – and used exactly what he told us to. We've done everything we can for him – and done it all perfectly. Seriously, Sally, think back to that exact second he blacked out and all the way to now and tell me if we made even one little mistake."

She wiped her nose roughly on her sleeve and forced her face into a painful smile.

"I know, I know. I'm fine, Rowan, honestly. What're you doing up? Thought you were sound asleep."

"Yeah, I was."

"So why are you awake?"

"Because I woke up? Do I need a reason?"

"You should rest. That thing got you good."

"Nah. I had it all under control."

"Oh really?"

"Absolutely. That was all a part of my master plan: let him think I was beaten, then make a big comeback the second he dropped his guard."

She laughed.

"You're stupid," she said, though it was not an insult.

"How's your head?" she asked, trying to see the bandage she had tied.

"Better," he replied, "Stings a little, but I'm pretty sure it's alright now."

"I really hope so. The poor thing must feel neglected enough as it is – wouldn't do if part of it couldn't even work right anymore."

"Hey!"

He jabbed her arm with his fist and she retaliated with a punch of her own.

Presently they decided it would be best for them to leave their guide in peace, and moved away towards the mouth of the cave and sat across from each other, looking out into the horizon.

"So, what was it like?" Rowan asked, "The fight," he added when she looked puzzled, "Must've been epic. A Pokémon fighting _**another**_ Pokémon! What was it like?"

She couldn't remember clearly, for all that he pestered her for details. All she remembered was her own overwhelming fear; fear of her own battered, injured body that had shackled her to the spot, fear for the condition of Rowan, fear for the condition of Howl who, after losing so much vitality had fought ferociously against their attacker, and above all, what was going to happen. Was the attacker going to be fended off, or was it going to overpower their protector and go for them next? That was all she remembered thinking and feeling at the time, though she told Rowan none of it. Eventually he gave up on the subject and reached into his satchel for something.

"Oh, no way!" he exclaimed suddenly, receiving a hiss of silence from her, but to no avail.

"What?" she asked as his face lit up with excitement.

"I can't believe it didn't get smashed!" he said, pulling a long object wrapped in a paper bag out and staring joyously at it before pulling its concealment away.

"Seriously! Falling down that slope, getting thrown around by a Pokémon, and still…! Must be sign. Or karma. Somethin'."

"What… Rowan – is that–"

He paused, the darkly-coloured bottle an inch away from his lips.

"…liquor?" she finished.

He glanced between her and the bottle briefly before answering,

"No."

She frowned and made to lean closer to see it, but he sipped the bottle quickly and hid the label behind his hand.

"You've just had liquor on you this whole time?" she asked dryly.

"It's not liquor!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it actually is."

"N-No, it…! All right, OK, yes, it is!" he cried and she shushed him again.

"Okay, yeah, it is. You got me. So what?"

"I'm fairly positive that drinking after suffering a blow to the head is not a good idea."

"I told you, I'm fine! It doesn't hurt anymore, and it's not even bleeding now! Look-"

He lifted the bandage for her to see.

"Okay? Sheesh, I thought you'd be cool about this…"

"Rowan, it's not just that… You're underage."

"So?! We're both X-marked criminals – As far as the law's concerned, we're both traitors to our entire species! Nobody's gonna care about a little drinking if we get caught!"

He brought the bottle to his lips and tipped it back heavily, swallowing audibly for about three seconds before gagging and letting it down, trying his best to look unperturbed.

"Rowan…" said Sally wearily, "No. Just no. I'm the responsible adult here-"

" _ **Responsible**_ ," he scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"-and I really shouldn't be condoning this," she went on.

"Whatever."

He drank some more of the bottle's contents, though at a much slower, more cautious pace, and thanks to that he was able to make out Sally's tone.

"Rowan? I _**really**_ _**shouldn't**_ be condoning this."

He glanced towards her, saw her expression, and hesitated. Then he groaned and hung his head, holding the bottle out to her.

"Thanks, buddy," she said sweetly, taking it from him and knocking it back herself.

Rowan watched irritably as more and more of the dark liquid was steadily drained away, crossing below half-full in merely a matter of seconds.

"Ah, come on!" he cried desperately as even more continued to disappear, and at last Sally stopped for air, smacked her lips and said nonchalantly,

"Good stuff," handing it back to him.

Hardly a quarter of the bottle remained filled.

"I…!" Rowan stammered in pure disbelief, "…I hate you."

"Oh please," she scoffed, " I could've drained the whole thing if I wanted to. In fact, maybe I should have, now that I think about it…"

"How are _**you**_ a responsible adult?!" Rowan demanded, and when she gave no reply, he lifted the bottle back to his lips and muttered, " _ **How**_?" before continuing to sip at a significantly slower pace.

Sally looked into the dark cave and felt her thoughts returning once again to the thinly-buried fear that still remained. What _**was**_ going to happen to them? How long would they be in this cave for? Was Howl going to recover? If not, what would happen to The Forest? Would they alone be responsible for the downfall of The Forest and its Guardian?

'No!' she told herself as they felt the wind begin to push droplets of the returning rain into their unsuspecting midst,

'That won't happen. I don't care what we have to do or how long it takes. I won't _**let**_ it happen!'

She heard Rowan mention something about moving further in, out of the rain's reach, and she agreed, only-half aware of what she was saying.

 **The guild members climbed the ladder out into the open first with Wigglytuff leading the way, Chatot flying above their heads, and Howl at the rear.**

" **Okay, everyone!" said the Guildmaster as the group stood in a circle at the cliff-top, Diglett and Dugtrio surfacing out of the ground among them simultaneously,**

" **We'll have to split into pairs, spread out and find Illume ASAP. Remember, Giratina shouldn't know we're back here, but then again, he clearly doesn't think like most Pokémon, so we shouldn't take chances. Do not – I repeat – do not call out unless you** _absolutely_ **have to! Far as we know, he could be above us right this very second, waiting. So, Loudred, I'm afraid you're just going to have to make no vocal sounds whatsoever."**

 **The gargantuan-mouthed Pokémon nodded his great head.**

" **UNDERSTOO-"**

 **Before anybody could shush him, Loudred's eyes went wide and in a few short seconds, he slapped his hands over his mouth, regained his composure, brushed imaginary dust off his chest and nodded firmly.**

" **The timer starts as soon as we reach the foot of the cliff," Wigglytuff went on resolutely, "You are to search your designated locations as thoroughly and quickly as you can, and be on guard as you do! We have precisely ten minutes to find Illume. If any pair finds her, you are to keep her where she is at all costs. The fact that she snuck out while being severely injured proves how well she's coping with all this… and how unlikely she is to follow orders when we find her. If any pair has not returned when we regroup at the foot of the cliff, we'll assume they have either found her or are in some kind of trouble, and will head to their designated location immediately! Ten minutes for each of us. We can't afford to risk using our Moves as a signal or making a lot of noise, and we must be quick! Is that understood?"**

" **Sir, yes, sir!" they all replied.**

" **Good.**

 **Sunflora and Bidoof: you two search the main square of the town.**

 **Loudred and Corphish: you two head down to the beach and check the cave.**

 **Diglett-"**

" **Wherever my son goes, I am going with him!" said Dugtrio suddenly and aggressively.**

" **I was going to tell you two to go together and search the north-eastern outskirts of town," said Wigglytuff before continuing to dole out his instructions,**

" **Chimecho and Croagunk: you two are to head for the south-eastern side outside of town, and, Chatot: I want you to stick to the path and try to shift between Diglett, Dugtrio, Chimecho and Croagunk's groups to cover the space between them.**

 **And, Howl; you're with me," he said at last, turning to face him, "We'll take the far-side of town and Sharpedo Bluff."**

 **The Guildmaster heard the hushed wave of muttering that seemed to pass between the guild members, and turned to face them all with a sombre expression.**

" **Yes, everyone," he said quietly, "Yes. This** _is_ **Howl. He's late; very late, but he** _didn't_ **break his word. Our hellos can wait until we locate our missing comrade."**

 **The guild members seemed to rouse themselves, and Howl tore his gaze away as Wigglytuff lead him to the forefront of their formation and down the steps of the cliff.**

 **As they hurried down the stone steps, Chatot suddenly flew in and began a hushed conversation with Wigglytuff. Though he tried to hear what was being said, Howl could not make out a word through the rushing air over his ears. Though at one point he heard quite distinctly,**

" **No, Chatot! I don't want to!"**

" **I don't want to either, Wigglytuff! Of course I don't! But if it comes to it, then there is simply no other way…"**

 **And with that, their talk had returned to silence, and so it had continued right until the final steps came into view.**

" **Everyone."**

 **Wigglytuff slowed to a sudden halt as he drew onto level ground and turned back to them as they struggled to stop themselves also.**

 **Chatot hovered beside him and eyed the Guildmaster as he drew his eyes from his own feet and began shakily,**

" **I-If it… comes to it… If something happens that turns the tides completely against us – If it turns out that Giratina** _is_ **here, and he finds out we're here too…" His voice tailed away, and his one visible eye clamped shut until Chatot said in a nurturing tone, "Go on."**

 **Wigglytuff drew a breath, and shaped his expression into a cold, determined, and commanding one and spoke with a voice to equal it,**

"… **then you are** _all_ **to make a retreat** _immediately_ **out of town. With or without Illume, you run. You flee with your lives."**

 **The protest had barely even begun before Chatot said sharply,**

" **All of you, get a grip! It has to be this way! You were all there. You saw what Giratina's troops were like. You saw what he did to our poor town. It is cruel enough that we would even have to consider-"**

" **It is cruel enough that we would even consider abandoning our comrade!" cried Dugtrio indignantly, "It is shameful!"**

" **Illume saved my life when they attacked, she did!" said Bidoof.**

" **Enough!"**

 **It was Wigglytuff who had demanded for silence.**

" **My friends… please… Not a single one of us wants this. Our goal in this search is to return** _with_ **Illume! But if we really are to lose a comrade… don't make it worse by throwing your own life away. One loss is terrible enough."**

 **The faces of the gathered Pokémon were all frozen in silent horror. But none more so than the face of the Pokémon who stood directly before the Guildmaster in a trance: his red eyes wide in total disbelief as to what he was hearing.**

" **Now, everyone! Move out! Let's find our Monferno comrade and get out of here for good!"**

 **The guild members moved like a dividing current and hurried towards their designated areas, the fleeting glimpses of their faces that could be seen filled with a wild – almost furious determination, as though each and every one of them was fully intent on disobeying the cruelty of the order they had been given. But Wigglytuff and Chatot knew they wouldn't.**

" **Howl?"**

 **Howl blinked and met his gaze. They stared in silence at each other, then Wigglytuff said,**

" **C'mon!" and made way for the far end of town, the recruit overtaking him immediately and sprinting across the centre and past Sunflora and Bidoof as they began their own searches, his mind a fire like the cursed blaze that still burned on the charred homes all around.**

 **As they crossed the bridge, Wigglytuff took a left turn and checked the tent that had been owned by a merchant and proclaimed fortune-teller Pokémon, Xatu, and Howl saw him disappear below the ground to search the Pokémon's home. Or rather… what had** _been_ **his home. For Xatu was gone. He had fled along with the recruits. Fled along with the Kecleon Brothers – whose supply store had been nothing short of life-saving to the guild Pokémon. Fled along with Kangaskhan – the most motherly Pokémon that the town had ever known, and who had loved and fussed over the recruits to no end. Whenever one had fallen ill or wounded or had just been in great need of comfort, it was a guarantee that Kangaskhan would always be the one to treat them until they were better. Years upon years of memories rattled through his brain. Memories of laughter, anger, and a seemingly endless current of happiness fought through to the centre of his mind as he searched the shops and the underground homes beneath the wreckage that stood above. After everything they had done for him, he had still done nothing to repay their kindness. No, all he had done was leave. Leave for his own selfish reasons, and return when it was too late.**

 **He resurfaced and looked around. The Guildmaster had still not finished searching Xatu's home. The only place that remained to them was Sharpedo Bluff.**

 **As he sprinted up to the very edge and looked out across the sea, he saw two red and blue specs that he recognised as Corphish and Loudred exiting the beach cave. They had not found Illume, and neither had he. There was nothing but two short rows of trees for cover on the bluff, and he didn't care how much Illume had apparently changed, he knew she smarter than to hide there.**

 **He looked back over his shoulder and saw that Wigglytuff had finally completed his own search, and that he had no-one at his side. He waved an arm to him, beckoning, and Howl began to make way towards him. Their search had ended in failure, but as far as they knew, it had not done so for the others. The only thing they could do now was regroup.**

 **A twig snapped underneath his foot, and with it came a sudden jolt to his brain. A feeling almost identical to how he felt at that very moment stirred within his memory. He had experienced something like this before, at the Kecleon Brothers' market. He remembered – as the little Riolu he'd been – poking his head over the counter and asking if the two had seen Kangaskhan, as she had not been at her home. The two had said that she had been consoling one of his fellow recruits, and at that exact moment he'd heard a twig snap just like in the present, and he'd looked to see Kangaskhan and Illume – as a Chimchar – walking side-by-side back along the path from Sharpedo Bluff. But Howl had seen the place clearly on his way through the town! He'd immediately spoken to Kangaskhan at the time, but realised now just how much it had baffled him! It was as though the two had just reappeared out of nowhere!**

 **Slowly, he looked back over his shoulder began and searched the place more scrupulously, checking between the small trees, gazing up into their canopies and even feeling along the ground. And as he drew close to the shrub that the path curved around, something reached his notice. The shrub! Could it be?**

 **He reached beneath its prickly thorns and felt the space below it, and what he found was something quite unlike solid earth! He located some leverage and pulled until the shrub was broken away from its roots. What he saw came as little more than a shock. The way that the shrub's roots had been forced to grow at such an angle so that it did not block off the stairway, but still used the greenery to hide it from view. And he realised: it had been grown at an angle to allow one to lift the plant out of the way without removing it completely as he had done!**

" **Wow, Kangaskhan…" he thought out-loud. He would never, in all his wildest dreams, have expected such a docile Pokémon to be so crafty. He dropped the shrub to one side, moved round to the top of the stairs, and made his way down them, into the ground of Sharpedo Bluff.**

 **The moment the sound of the wind whistling around the bluff was silenced, Howl was on his guard. This hidden, underground place was not deserted.**

 **There was somebody else ahead. Somebody else; waiting, lurking. Someone ahead was…**

 **He stopped and listened more closely.**

… **Crying?**

 **The alarm and realisation of what this meant caused a split-second's reaction to mislead his foot and push a rock down the step and clatter with an echo directly towards the stranger's ears, silencing their sobs.**

" **Illume?" he asked as loudly as he dared. "Illume! Please respond!"**

 **He treaded forwards deftly, so silently even he could not hear his own footsteps, then he reached the entrance, backed against the wall and dipped his head around the corner before immediately pulling it back behind cover. He had seen no-one there. But how could that be? He braced his stance, leaned forwards slightly and looked up towards the ceiling just as a column of dust fell from directly above. In an instant, he knew he was in danger and leapt forward into the room as someone lunged down from the ceiling and struck at the place his head had been. The Pokémon who had struck hissed, and the ball of flame at the tip of her tail flared angrily as she stood before the doorway, claws shining at the ends of her fingers.**

" **Illume…!"**

 **The word had barely left his mouth when it was met with a response livid with hatred.**

" **Get out."**

 **Before he could say any more, his partner's arms were enveloped in red-hot fire and she ran at him, claws at the ready.**

" **Get out!"**

 **Howl leapt to the side and continued to dodge away as she followed after him, remembering in the back of his mind what Fire-Type attacks meant for him now. Along with his evolution, he'd gained another Type with his power, causing certain areas of bone – forearms, legs, claws, and those protecting vital organs – to be covered with a metallic surface so that he was now a Fighting** _and_ **Steel-Type. And nothing spelled danger to metal quite like heat.**

" **Shadow scum!" Illume bellowed, "Get out of our town!"**

 **She positioned her legs in a familiar stance and leapt forward for a kick, but Howl had been ready and grabbed the limb with both arms and hurled it upwards with so much newfound strength that she was flipped upside-down in mid-air, and an easy target for him to strike with Force Palm and send her straight into the opposite wall.**

 **He yelled at her to stand down, but she seemed not to hear as she recovered her footing almost immediately and ran at him again. They wrestled within the cliff, striking, evading, parrying and countering until at last Illume's Move met with his own between them and the collision of their power sent each of them flying backwards into the walls.**

 **Howl struggled upright and saw that Illume was already preparing to attack again and he thrust out his palms.**

" **Illume, stop! STOP!"**

 **His partner's feet skidded along the floor and she recoiled, her expression full of anger and horrified alarm.**

" **What?!" she said, "You… You** _speak_ **?**

 **What… How…** _Giratina_ _ **!**_ **You - Just how far does your cruelty extend?!"**

" **No, Illume!" Howl retorted, holding up his arms peaceably, "You're mistaken. I'm not… one of them. I'm just… I'm an outsider."**

 **His partner glared warily.**

" **Who are you?"**

" **I'm not what's important right now," he said, "What are you doing here? Your comrades are looking everywhere for you. Why would you sneak out of wherever it is you were hiding?"**

" **You!" she spat, "I asked you who you were! Now answer me!"**

 **His expression remained cold behind the fresh soot and ashes that still remained on his body, and eventually she answered.**

"… **It's** _his_ **fault. All of it. It's because of him that we're back here, waiting right under Giratina's nose, his fault that I got wounded in the fight and couldn't help the others – couldn't stop them from being taken down too. If he'd been here, we would've watched each-other's backs, just like always!"**

 **Howl's insides plummeted, and he began to croak a reply, but then Illume strode towards the inner-wall of the bluff, opposite the side where the cliff opened like a mouth with teeth-like rocks framing the view of the sea.**

" **No," she said, "No. More than anything… it's** _my_ **fault for trusting him. Thinking he'd be here when I – when** _we_ **needed him! I alone am responsible for bringing everyone back!"**

" **No…" he gagged, "Illume…!"**

 **His childhood companion suddenly wailed and drove her fist straight into the rocky wall, leaving a visible crack in its surface that had not been there before.**

" **Why…!" she hissed,**

" _Why_ _ **…?**_ **He said he'd come back. He** _promised_ **he'd come back…!**

 **All this time…**

 **Not a single word from him, and all this time…!"**

 **Suddenly Illume cried out – an anguished sound that did not do justice to the emotions that were flooding her, that had been building up for so long!**

" **HOWL!"**

 **Her arms ablaze once more, Illume began to strike and pummel the wall before her, caving the rocks in bit by bit, all the while spewing verbal abuse at the Pokémon who had abandoned her. All her fears, all her doubts, all her suspicions – everything she had fought to repress on behalf of her childhood friend was let out for the world to hear;**

 **Howl's evolution had made him hunger for more power;**

 **Howl's evolution had made him want fame and glory as a warrior all for himself;**

 **Howl's evolution had never even happened, and he had lost his life somehow along the journey;**

 **And Howl's evolution had turned him into an irresistible Pokémon, and he had chosen another girl over the one whom he had sworn to that, no matter what, would remain his closest friend for all of time.**

 **The Guildmaster stood silent in the doorway, unnoticed by either of them, and each of Illume's next words was punctuated with a strike at the wall which had now deepened by a whole two feet.**

" **Why – Won't – He – Come –** _BACK_ _ **?!**_ **"**

 **Illume fell to her knees, and Howl saw to his ever-deepening despair that she was crying! He'd not seen her cry for years!**

 **His feet dragged across the floor as he forced himself to approach her and kneel directly at her side.**

" **Why…?" she whimpered, "All this time…! Waiting for so long…! He…** _promised_ **he'd come back…!"**

 **Howl put his arm around her shoulders, and when she looked at him, he made his way towards a little stone drinking fountain that just happened to be there.**

" **He will come back," he said, his voice surprisingly steady, "He will. You mean…** _everything_ **to him."**

" **No!" Wigglytuff suddenly said from the doorway,**

" **Stop! Er, Stranger! Don't!"**

 **But Howl filled his paws with the clear liquid and began to splash it across his muzzle, working to remove the smallest mote of soot from every strand of fur on his face.**

" **When you first found him, a weak, frightened Riolu out in the middle of nowhere," he continued, "you did for him what so many others wouldn't. You took him in. You let him stay with you when you had no idea who he even was. You didn't see a potential threat. All you saw was someone who needed help."**

" **-Stop-!"**

" **-Neither of you had any family. Nobody else to turn to. You grew up together, trained in a guild together, and beat the odds countless times-"**

" **-HOWL, STOP-!"**

 **Ignoring the Guildmaster's orders, Howl turned slowly to meet the eye of his attacker, his comrade, his childhood friend and went on without pause,**

" **If he had even a shred of decency… he would never abandon you. He would not** _allow_ **himself to get killed. No 'other girl' could ever be as important to me as the closest thing to a sister I have."**

 **Words were beyond her. Her expression was inscrutable. Her entire body perfectly still.**

 **His paw clutched the stone fountain.**

" **Illume… the words have come far too late, and they may mean nothing to you, but still… they're all I have.**

 **If I could make** _any_ **of this up to you by apologising, I'd apologise for the rest of my days, if that's what it took. If I could just - go back and tell myself to** _not_ **leave, to** _not_ **evolve, I'd do it without hesitating and never look back. After everything this world has put you through already, you deserve better than me. I can't even begin to repay the kindness you've shown me.**

 **I'm… sorry."**

 **Whatever she had said or done in response to this was a blur to him. Whatever had transpired after the phenomenal stretch of silence was unclear. All he remembered was a blinding pain slashing across the right of his face and being hurtled across the room until his back landed hard against the teeth of the Sharpedo formation that the bluff was named for. Wigglytuff had been calling names into the air and Howl had instinctively rolled out of harm's way as a flaming creature lunged at him, her claws searching for a point to bury themselves deep into his flesh.**

 **The Guildmaster's exclamation of horror brought him to his senses and he looked around. His attacker had disappeared. Before his tired brain had time to wonder, he heard a sound that wrenched him from the depths of mental fatigue. The distant sound of someone landing hard into the water far below.**

" **ILLUME!"**

 **Back a few steps, running at full speed, and leaping out of the rocky maw. That was all he remembered doing as he too fell hard into the sea and began to drive himself deeper in, a miniscule spec of flame below catching his unharmed, open left eye.**


	18. Chapter 17

_**Chapter Seventeen:**_

 _ **Promises Kept**_

In the depths of her slumber, Sally thought she heard something move right past her, and it was only after her realisation of there being nothing in her dream that could make such a convincingly real sound that she finally awoke, casting about, beginning to panic for reasons she wasn't quite sure of. Then she noticed that the bedding they had laid out for their guide was unoccupied. She whipped her head round and saw that, despite his assurance that he was wide-awake and would let nothing escape his notice, Rowan was snoring soundly a few feet away, the empty bottle held loosely in his hand. She would be sure to have words with him later, but for now she got to her feet and gasped sharply, clutching her injured leg. Rowan snorted and turned over, and she supported herself along the wall as she made her way towards the glow of orange-red outside the cave.

Once stood in the open, she found Howl almost immediately. The Pokémon was seated a little to the left of the cave's mouth and facing out towards the horizon. His eyes were shut, his legs crossed, and his paws rested on his knees with his palms facing up. As she approached him, a little warily, she saw that the black appendages below his ears were reaching out to either side again, and despite everything that had happened, she felt her curiosity rise to the surface once more. Then she tensed up slightly as she noticed the Pokémon's paws were wreathed in the very same dark-blue fire as before, and realised how it seemed to be doing no harm to him whatsoever. In fact, he looked quite calm: almost serene; the spike on his chest rose and fell slowly with each breath and his tail stood erect, moving from side to side in a gentle, hypnotic rhythm. She had no way of knowing for sure, but the closest thing she could associate his behaviour with was meditation, and decided to consider all he had been through and leave her questions for later. She had only just turned away and begun to quietly make her way back when his voice said gruffly,

"Do you want something?"

She had almost managed to conceal her alarm. Almost.

"I-I just… I wondered where you were. I thought that maybe you'd…"

She wasn't sure how she could phrase her thought in a way that meant him no disrespect. She didn't want it to seem like he wasn't trusted.

"If the end of that thought was 'left', as you can see, that's not the case," he said shortly, without the slightest change in body language.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

The tip of his tail twitched.

"Could be worse," he said, "But, that said, I've definitely felt better..."

"Sorry…"

"Why are you apologising?"

"I-I… It's our fault. _**My**_ fault. My fault you got that wound in the first place, and it's only 'cause of us that you're out here fighting so hard when you've already got an entire forest to look out for! We can't even begin to repay you, and still here you are risking your life for a couple of humans when you could easily just-"

"Oh pipe down!" Howl snarled across the rest of her words, and Sally felt a jolt in her nerves, like she was suddenly a child again being scolded by an adult whom she was somewhat afraid of.

"Did I ever ask you to repay me? Did I say that my protection would come at a price?"

No! No, but-"

"But nothing. I'm here by my own choice. Last I checked, neither you nor Rowan were the ones who stabbed me, and neither of you intentionally drew that Rhydon to you. None of this has happened because one of you made some stupid mistake. You were in great need of help, and I was perfectly happy to oblige. How about a simple 'thank you' instead of 'sorry'?"

The corners of her mouth gave an involuntary twitch.

"R-Right. Right, of course… Thank you."

"You are quite welcome."

A peal of laughter escaped her with ease. She just couldn't help herself: he was acting just like a strict old man.

The tip of his muzzle lifted slightly, so that it was directed straight towards the darkening horizon.

"We've wasted enough time here," he said, "I wish I could tell you to wake Rowan and prepare to leave immediately, but-"

"No, you can't! I don't think we can risk you getting even a paper-cut with all the blood you've lost! You need to recover! You need to _**rest**_!"

"…But it's already getting late. Wouldn't be wise to set out in the dead of night on a mountain."

He sighed.

"We'll stay here for tonight. Get our bearings, eat, sleep, and then we leave at first light. The previous owner of our shelter might just end up returning in the night, so we should take turns keeping watch."

"Rowan and me will keep watch, and maybe the little flying Pokémon, but not _**you**_. You won't be keeping watch – you need to rest."

His ears moved a little to either side, and he looked back over his shoulder at her, his expression almost as wryly amused as his tone.

"Won't I now?" he smirked, "And why is that?"

He was challenging her to act in-charge or threatening, and she knew it, but she wouldn't be baited so easily.

"I'm calling a solid you-owe-me," she said calmly, "I mean, yeah, you're going out of your way to take us someplace safe, but I've stopped you from bleeding to your death – how many times now? Twice?"

" _ **I**_ owe _**you**_?" he said incredulously, "Did you forget that each of those times beforehand I saved your life too? And unless I'm mistaken, didn't you tell me back in your home that we were even in that regard?"

"When we were back in my home, yeah," she persisted stubbornly, "I still think what I've done for you recently has to count for something, though. I shared all my water with you."

"I saved you and Rowan from Rota Village _**and**_ a band of soldiers," he drawled, "But I think I'll be generous and let that whole incident count as just one favour."

"I carried the little guy on your shoulder when you didn't want him getting caught in the fight with the villagers."

"I stopped you falling down that wall. Next."

"I-I-" Her stutter was brief: only just over a second before she said heatedly, "I stopped that little guy from getting shot by the soldiers when he ran to go get you! How many favours does _**that**_ count for, Howl? One? Five?!"

His eyes widened. It was clear the little one had not told him about what had happened; perhaps it hadn't even known about it. Nevertheless, his alarm was clear.

"Oh," she said irritably, shaking her head, "all right, fine, you don't owe us anything, but… but there's got to be enough that you feel just _**a little**_ obligation. Just the fact that you're still alive is a miracle, but we need you in good shape. Rowan – bless him – despite travelling more than me, really doesn't know enough about surviving in the wild, and I know even less than him! We won't last out here on our own. For our peace of mind if not your own, please rest."

Howl's gaze fell to the ground next to his feet.

"…Fine," he said after a pause, "Fine. I'm not especially fond of sleep lately, but... if you insist."

"Good," she said.

"But if anything does come up – if that man does come back-"

"We'll wake you up. Got it."

"If you even _**think**_ there's somebody lurking outside, I don't want any of you to go and investigate it yourselves. You catch even that faintest whiff of trouble, you wake me up. Clear?"

"As a bell."

He regarded her briefly, then said,

"Good,"

-and turned back towards the world below, the appendages below his ears rising up. Before she could stop it, the question finally slipped out of her.

"What are those things?"

His gaze returned, and she felt her cheeks grow warm at her curiosity voicing itself without her consent.

"What 'things'?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, "I didn't mean to… I-If it's rude, don't feel you have to answer, but… well…

Those black things behind your ears. What are they?"

"What - these?" he said, lifting one with a paw, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I… I'm curious. Sometimes they just hang all limp, and just a moment ago they were all… different. Does that usually happen?"

"I never really notice, but I suppose if it was just a moment ago, then it must happen quite frequently. They're called Sensors."

"Sensors?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, that's what _**I've**_ always called them," he said, "If they have an actual name, I don't know it."

"How come you call them that? What exactly are they sensing?"

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you, frankly."

His heart was still heavy from all that he'd been forced to relive, and his brain was exhausted and aching; the last thing he felt up to was a long-winded explanation, and perhaps Sally had picked up on that, for she pressed the subject no further, though he could still 'sense' her curiosity.

Presently she decided to make a start on preparing food, and he told her he would join them again soon. He needed some time alone with his thoughts.

When, at last, the sunset's glow had started to vanish entirely from the skyline and shade the sky a violet that would soon become the dark of night, he forced himself to stand and return to their shelter. As soon as he had entered and the barrier of rock and dirt had silenced the noise of the outside world, he noticed the tiniest flicker at the end of the cave's walls and two familiar, barely-hushed, angry voices.

"Rowan, wait, don't hold it like-!"

Rowan brought the rock down hard and missed the flint held in his hand completely, crushing the end of his thumb between the two stones and barely managing to stifle the high yelp that followed.

"Smooth, really smooth," Sally snarled, grabbing the two stones and proceeding to resume her efforts when she noticed their guide watching with a bemused look. His eyes, gleaming in the lantern-light, moved from the stones in her palms to the sparks sitting idly beside the firewood they had found, and then at last to Rowan, whose eyes were watering as he clutched his injury.

The Pokémon's gaze settled on her and he crooked his head a little with one ear perked to the side, as if words would not do justice to his confusion.

"OK, so I know I said we'd get started on food and all," she began, "and we've been trying to do that for a little while now. See, I was under the foolish impression that after being forced – by his own choice – to live in the wild, Rowan here might actually know how to make a fire!"

"I _**do**_ …!" Rowan retorted in a timid, almost pitiful tone.

Howl approached and knelt between the two of them, studying the kindling they had laid out. It was clumsy and hastily prepared, but not altogether bad work, he thought, but if he had to wait for nourishment much longer, it might just start to get the better of him.

Sally glared past him and said, "Y'know, Rowan, I don't think this stone's even flint! Why couldn't you have brought some matches with you? Seriously, we've been here for at least thirty minutes because-"

Her nerves gave a jolt as the Pokémon took the stones from her without a word and began to try and light the fire himself. He hit the stones together loudly; once; twice; and on the third strike a spark flew and landed at the end of a large, dead leaf and began to burn – but showed no sign of spreading beyond the rest of the wood beside it. Howl – as if keenly aware of this – brought out large, razor-sharp claws on each of his forefingers and created a hollow in the centre of their kindle and used one of the shining, silver hooks to coax the leaf carefully into it. Just as it looked as though the leaf was about to disintegrate and take the glowing ember along with it, the Pokémon leaned in close to it and blew the flame into a row of twigs, which caught the blaze and soon spread it across the rest of their brethren. Howl continued to alternately move kindle with his claws and direct the flames to other spots until, in no time at all, a fully-formed campfire crackled merrily before them. The Pokémon reached across to the pile of logs that the cave's original owner had kept, dropped one into the blaze and sat back, warming his paws over the flames, utterly unaware of the perfectly-mirrored expressions that Sally and Rowan had aimed into his back.

"Show-off," Rowan muttered out the corner of his mouth across to his companion.

"What?" Howl asked, turning, but Rowan immediately replied,

"Nothin'."

Sally and Rowan located a pan, filled it with soup and set it over the fire whilst the Pokémon picked up the Oran Berry skins littered all over the ground and started to roast some of the cleanest ones on a stick. The berries were not chosen for the flavour of their skin by any Pokémon species or Type, but he was hungry enough to disregard the virtual assault on his taste-buds, especially if it would allow even a minute amount of strength to return to him.

Soon after Sally had placed a blanket over the floor and laid out what they had brought with them, the Pidgey returned to the cave, holding a small sack in her feet and dropped it into Howl's lap.

Howl took one look into its contents and smiled up at the little creature, holding out his wrist for her to perch on and they spoke to one-another in Pokémon tongue, clear that he was expressing thanks.

Inside the sack were fruits and herbs of all sorts, bizarre in colour and size – at least to human eyes. Their guide was gazing at them as if they were a lost treasure. The two Pokémon helped themselves heartily to their forage, and allowed the humans to try some if they so desired.

As Sally ate through mouthfuls of bread and soup, Rowan spoke to Howl, asking him how he felt, thanking him for saving them, and it was only when he inquired about who their attacker had been that she finally withdrew her attention from food.

"Why did it attack us? Was it cuz we're humans?"

Howl's expression was suffused into a mixture of solemnity and exhaustion.

"No," he said, "At least, I don't think so. It's hard to tell what's going through a Feral's mind when it attacks."

"A Feral?" Sally asked, "Is that what that kind of Pokémon was called?"

"Not 'kind' as in 'species'. The Pokémon itself was called a Rhydon. But… I think he'd been Feral for a few years, at least."

" _ **Been**_ Feral?" said Rowan.

"You mean, like, he'd become Feral? As opposed to what?" Sally asked.

Howl's eyes fell with fatigue, clear that the prospect of food was what had kept him awake, not that of explanation.

"Howl," said Sally at once, "don't worry about it. You're tired, and we were just wondering, is all."

Rowan concurred,

"If you're too tired to tell us now, that's OK. It's just… Well, we kind of need to know, right? Did we do something wrong, did we offend it somehow – is that why it attacked?"

Howl gazed to the floor, then after setting his gaze briefly on the two of them, he shook his head and pulled back a corner of the mat.

"Look," he said, extending a claw and burrowing it into the earth, reflecting the light of the fire in their eyes.

The two humans edged closer, and the Pidgey hopped to their side to see what they were all doing.

"From what I can tell, the Pokémon ways of life were quite similar to your human ways not so long ago. You humans have towns, those who live in them and those who move from place to place. For Pokémon kind, these were definitive ways of life regardless of one's background, species' tradition and whatnot. Those who lived in towns were known simply as Civilised. Whether they lived within its borders or nearby to them. If they had settled down and had no intention of leaving, then that was simply what they were: Civilised Pokémon."

As their guide spoke, he drew a symbol into the ground before moving his claw to the side, burrowing it into the earth again and continuing,

"The second way one would live their life would be to leave home once they were able, and head from one settlement to another, training themselves along the way and seeing as much of the world as they could. The point was that they chose to always keep moving, never staying in one place, and spending more of their time in the wild than anywhere else. They were known as the Wilder, and are surprisingly similar to your human travellers…"

Once the second symbol had been drawn, the red eyes settled steadily on Rowan, who looked mildly bemused.

"Like… me?" he asked.

"Indeed, Rowan. Were you a Pokémon, I have no doubt you'd have ended up choosing the life of a Wilder. They are to us what human travellers are to you."

His claw moved to a space beside the symbol he had drawn for the Wilder.

"The reason for which these were definitive ways of life for Pokémon kind isn't simply because of one's personal preference. It was a choice made so that one would find the way to unlock the absolute limit of their power. The two of you have seen it. The power that all Pokémon are born with, the power that allows some of us to,"

-he held up his free paw and brought an Aura Sphere into being inside it, "create explosive spheres from our own bodies. The Power to wreathe one's own body in blue flames.

Our power extends far, _**far**_ beyond that, but only if we choose to temper it. There are many ways in which this can be done, some of which are of more peaceful means that will require the help of friends and family, and others are of more difficult, testing conditions, which is the path for the Wilder. This power is everything to a Pokémon. Without it, we would not be what we are. Without our power, we will begin to grow lethargic and feeble, starting with simply being unable to use it effectively, and then eventually, being unable to even help one's own family with minor tasks. Not a single day goes by without us using our power in some way.

And yet… that very same power is dangerous. Not just to others, but to us as well. If one has failed to grow as an individual along with their power, it absolutely will dominate their spirit. We are taught this from the very moment we begin to harness it, and we are sure to never forget it. But for some, it's easier than it is for others…"

He paused. The fire crackled and spat, and a spark landed onto the earth in front of him. Sally and Rowan were both bursting to speak, but held their tongues, waiting for him to continue.

"It's still relatively unclear what precisely causes a Pokémon to turn Feral. Some speculate, but the facts that were gathered all point towards some kind of trauma: the loss of a loved one, loss of home, and above all: isolation. The trauma in question always differs, but the one who has suffered has always ended up lost in the wilderness, no-one to speak with, no-one to rely on, and nothing but their own hopeless, unbearable thoughts for company. As their spirit falters, their power becomes harder for them to contain. Eventually it turns on them completely, and they feel they must unleash it upon just about everything that moves."

"It makes them lose their minds?" said Rowan.

"Not immediately. It starts with something more like… excessive venting. Add in isolation, the feeling of hopelessness and grief, give it all some time to develop, and ultimately yes. Unleashing every last ounce of their power becomes a priority like eating and locating shelter. They will be bound to do almost nothing but fight until their final days, and their sense of self is buried so deeply it's almost gone."

"That…" Rowan breathed, "That's horrible…!"

The Pokémon dragged his claw through the earth and drew a final symbol, one that was much more menacing than the other two.

"That," he said, "is the life of a Feral. It's not one that any Pokémon would knowingly choose. Some are born into it, and others become it later on, but it is never, ever out of choice."

Sally asked,

"They're just victims, though, aren't they? Don't tell me you kill them just because…!"

"Who said _**anything**_ about killing them?" Howl growled, "They are victims, just as you say. They have done nothing to earn their suffering. They can be brought back to reason. Of course Civilised and Wilder don't kill them! It is our responsibility as those who _**can**_ help to do so! Feral are restrained and brought back into safety, where our power is once again put to use. We, as Civilised, do everything we can to calm their fury and mend their broken souls. We work tirelessly to help them contain their overwhelming power once again, no matter how long it takes."

"Wait-" she began, "You mean you _**still**_ don't-? That _**you**_ didn't kill the-?"

"Of course not. Killing them isn't the answer, it's the easy way out," he said plainly,

"Honestly, you two, any more talk of killing, and I may start to have second thoughts about helping you."

Sally and Rowan both struggled to respond to this, but he unconcernedly waved away their defences and shuffled back towards the food and resumed his feast as though there had been no interruption, tearing into a large fruit with his sharp teeth and licking his muzzle of the juice that flowed out. After a while, Sally and Rowan went on to ask him more about what he'd told them: about the Civilised and Wilder he'd known, more about the Pokémon's power he'd spoken of, and he indulged them with talk of Pokémon who were able to send others to sleep in the blink of an eye with song, those who could conjure up dark clouds above and bring about days of rain and thunder, those who were born in the heights of frozen peaks, in the depths of the sea and all sorts of environments, and their civilisation was the unification of all Pokémon kind coming together and learning from one-another, expanding the limit of their individual power and growing as one great breed of being. Sally and Rowan listened with rapt attention, hardly able to believe some of what they were being told.

When all four of them had eaten their fill, they began to grow drowsy, comforted by the warm fire and the wail of the wind far out of reach.

Their guide returned their cloaks, assuring them that a fire and his fur was all he needed for warmth. Rowan took watch at the corner facing towards the entrance and Sally was meticulous in her choice of words as she assured him what would happen if he let himself fall asleep a second time. As she sat across from the fire, draping her cloak over her body, she saw the Pidgey hop away from the fire and stand facing Howl, whose eyes were already closed.

The Bird-Pokémon approached him carefully, and then sat down directly beside him, as close as she could get.

The Guardian's eyelids stirred and opened, and he saw the little creature that had settled itself so very close.

Then Sally saw a small smile curve his muzzle and he moved his tail across the floor, curling it around her to shield her from the cold.

When she saw this, Sally felt something stir from deep within.

She remembered, as a child growing up, being told stories of lands far away filled with mystical, powerful and benevolent creatures that shared a common tongue, understood each-other, and took care of one-another regardless of circumstance. In the stories she'd been told, there were the humans who had looked up to these beings and others who had seen nothing but a means for power, a means to make their dastardly, evil plans come to fruition.

And here they were in the present day…!

She swallowed back the lump in her throat.

Her childhood fantasies were not just stories any longer: they were happening right before her eyes! Pokémon _**were**_ mysterious, frighteningly powerful creatures that had indeed originated from a far-away land! An entire continent that seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere upon the ocean: a land which no records or maps had ever known of, and yet here it was as if it had always been there, and indeed here were humans now living upon it! Simple, common townsfolk using these beings for the vast amounts of power they held – all for the convenience it gave them. Not cruel, wicked people, just everyday common folk surrendering to the inattention and greed that their busy, demanding lives inevitably dredged up in the purest of souls.

And yet, what did that make those who saw things differently? What did that make humans like Emmia, the woman they had yet to meet? What did that make Rowan, who took a profound interest in Pokémon?

What did that make _**her**_?

Sally shifted uncomfortably.

She had never considered herself to be anyone important. She was nothing more than an inn-keeper who had seen an opportunity in these parts. In a way, she was no different from anyone else.

In spite of herself, a voice in the back of her head pointed out that if the stories were to be believed in any regard, then she, Rowan and Emmia were in the right – they were 'the good people'.

But then, why did she feel that was not the case at all? What had being in the right gained her?

The neighbouring village had turned on her, her home had been destroyed, and now, as far as her people were concerned, she was nothing more than a criminal. A heretic.

Twin currents of emotion flooded her, and she shut her eyes tight, clutching handfuls of her cloak and trying to stifle the endless barrage of bitter thoughts.

 **He pulled her out from the water and laid her down in the sand, clutching her shoulders and calling her name as Loudred and Corphish rushed towards them both.**

" **Illume!" he pleaded, shaking her with all the strength he had left, "Illume, no! You can't-! Not like this! Wake up! Wake up, I beg-!"**

 **A quiet exhale escaped her, then her eyes snapped open, she recognised the face before her and swiped with needle-claws again. Howl managed to avoid it, but her assault was immediately followed by another set of claws slashing through the air desperately to try and find their mark.**

 **Corphish and Loudred rushed forwards and pinned Illume down by the arms, hissing imploringly at her to be quiet, but she took no more notice of them than she would of a stone and glared straight towards Howl, her words almost inaudible were it not for his evolution-strengthened hearing.**

" _You_ _ **…!**_ **You come back** _now…_ _ **!**_ **You just thought it'd all be OK, like nothing ever happened?! How** _dare_ **you!"**

 **He shook his head, trying desperately to form coherent thoughts and vocalise them to her, but Illume snarled and struck Loudred with her elbow, who was unable to prevent himself from crying out and stunning Corphish and Howl with his volume, and the recruit seized her chance to shake Corphish off and make for her partner again.**

" **Illume, cut it out!" Howl heard from Corphish as he dodged around the assault.**

" _Fight – back_ _ **!"**_ **she growled, "Fight back, you liar, you selfish-"**

 **The sound of a Move being fired cut her off and Corphish's Bubblebeam doused the arm she'd been about to strike with along with one side of her upper-body and she keeled over, already shivering and numb from her whole body being submerged in water and fell to one knee at his feet.**

" **Howl,** _now_ _ **!"**_

 **Howl looked to Corphish, realised what the guild member was saying to him and backed away.**

" **No…!"**

 **His eyes returned to his beloved, trusted companion wounded before him and every last instinct within him was urging him to pull her to her feet and treat her wounds!**

" **Howl, snap out of it! D'you wanna get your other eye scratched out?!"**

" **Corphish, I… I can't-!"**

 **In barely a few short seconds, Howl saw Illume leap to her feet, heard a deep inhale from out of sight and then saw Loudred unleash a vocal Move with almost deafening power directly at Illume, who cried out and clutched her skull, giving Loudred more than enough time to charge forwards and strike with a Move Howl recognised as Fire Punch – a Move that would do little damage to Illume by Type, but that was powerful enough to launch her away from him and collapse amidst the sand a few feet away.**

 **Loudred and Corphish ran past to press their advantage and Howl, acting on pure instinct sprinted past them and blocked off their path.**

" **Stop!" he said, fangs bared, "That's enough. Don't take another step. I won't let you hurt her!"**

" **Howl, what do you think you're doing?! She has to be restrained!"**

" **It's Illume, Corphish!"**

" **I know that! She'll just slow us down awake, so we're going to have to knock her unconscious! That's all, Howl-"**

" **No, you're not," Howl snarled, bracing his stance, "She's my partner. I won't let you hurt her."**

" **Howl, she just hit you, and she's still trying to!"**

" **Looks like she hit him a little too hard, eh, Corphish?"**

" **Loudred, be quiet!"**

 **Loudred ignored him and glared at the recruit before them,**

" **If you're gonna get in the way, Howl, don't think I'll hold ba-"**

" **Loudred,** _stop talking!_ **Seriously!"**

 **Howl looked back over his shoulder and said, "Illume! I implore you, stand down!"**

 **And her response had barely even begun when all voices fell silent. A noise had pierced through the air. A deafening, hair-raising roar had droned through the dark clouds above which began to change in an instant; they began to rush and soar in a great spiral as if inside the eye of a tornado, and what had been the faintest streak of the blue sky above had suffused into the deepest red that blazed down onto the land below.**

 **The roar sent ripples across the water, caused a sudden cold chill to sweep through the air and filled them all with a dread like no other they had felt in their years of training and missions.**

"Sally," said a familiar voice, accompanied by a gentle shake on her shoulder. She struggled to open her eyes and Rowan hushed her tired grumbling.

"It's your turn to keep watch," he whispered, "I haven't seen or heard anyone or anything. It's been pretty quiet."

She rubbed her eyes and heard a string of what sounded like silent grunts across the fading embers before her.

"He's been mumbling like that for a while now," said Rowan before she could ask.

She remembered their guide mentioning vaguely that he was not fond of slumber, and wondered what could be ailing him so horribly.

"He was like that last night too," she remembered, "But I thought that was probably natural, considering he was undergoing treatment for a stab wound…"

Howl's eyelids clenched and his fangs shone briefly as they heard him breathe a sharp inhale.

 **Rocks the size of boulders rained down on the earth as Loudred, Corphish and Howl sprinted up the path back into town, the recruit half-supporting, half-carrying Illume as she limped alongside them as quickly as she possibly could. Howl could hear her gasping, "No, no, no, not again… not again…! It's over. It's all over…!"**

 **Corphish suddenly cried,**

" **Howl, look out!"**

 **-and the recruit himself held Illume tightly as he leapt back to avoid being crushed by one of the falling rocks, which half-buried itself into the earthy path.**

" **Quickly!" Loudred's voice resounded over the commotion,**

" **We have to smash that thing right NOW before-"**

 **The rock cracked down the centre and burst in a shower of jagged fragments, and from within it came a rush of light that sent Loudred souring through the air and into one of the trees along the path.**

 **Howl watched in a frozen trance as a Zangoose got clumsily to its feet with its head held limp and eyes shut exactly like a rag doll being moved to and fro. Howl saw they were exactly as the Guildmaster had described: a lifeless body with dark, ominous streaks across its arms and legs that seemed to originate from the mark imprinted on its chest.**

 **The dark mark on its chest suddenly became charged with some kind of purple energy the sped through the streaks on its limbs like an electric shock, and with barely any warning – let alone time to react – the Shadow's eyes opened with a deep-red flash and it ran straight towards them, claws at the ready.**

 **Howl released Illume and aimed two simultaneous Force Palms at the Shadow, who ducked underneath the burst of light and sprang forwards, digging its claws just barely into his chest. He was knocked back by the momentum, but managed to use the fall to roll onto his shoulders, tuck his right foot underneath his attacker and kick them off so that they landed squarely on the ground behind him. He leapt to his feet as he heard a snarl from behind and turned to find the Shadow aiming not for him, but for Illume, who was barely managing to avoid and parry its strikes.**

 **He snarled and aimed a strike at the back of its head, but the Zangoose whipped round, ducked and swung its claws across his muzzle. He staggered back as the strike was followed by another to his chest, but by the time a third was aimed his way, he shuffled back out of harm and struck with a roundhouse kick just as his opponent followed after him.**

 **And in those few short seconds, it was as though he and Illume were the recruits they had been, working perfectly in sync in the heat of battle just like they had done on their missions before they had even known about evolution.**

 **His strike had connected precisely where he'd wanted it to, the Shadow's head had been knocked sideways upon the collision, and almost at the exact same moment it had happened, Illume swept out its legs from behind and in the instant that it was suspended face-down in mid-air, Howl struck it hard with a powerful Force Palm and sent it soaring through the air away from them both, and there was not even time for it to roll upon the ground before Illume's Fire Blast Move chased it through the air and exploded upon contact.**

 **Howl snapped out of his reverie and tried to meet Illume's eyes, but when she gasped, he followed her gaze.**

 **The Zangoose was enveloped in the purple energy from the mark on its chest, and it looked as though it were transforming every minute part of its body into small shimmers of light that rose up and disappeared into the air. Their attacks had not been lethal, but their opponent was fading away right before their eyes!**

" **Howl, Illume, behind you!"**

 **Howl whipped round, but was too late. Another Shadow – a Dragonite – had leapt into the air and fired Twister at him and Illume, both of whom were sent flying back as it spread its wings and glided swiftly towards Illume and landed hard on her stomach, crushing the breath out of her.**

 **The Dragonite's claws glowed with light as it raised them high above, but Loudred's voice sounded clearly above the commotion as an Ice Beam shot straight into the Shadow's back. The Shadow made no sound, not a cry of pain, and barely even a readable expression, yet as it began to fall back down to the earth, the purple energy from its chest surged and enveloped its body until, with a flash, the Pokémon disappeared before it had even hit the ground.**

" **No…!" Howl breathed, turning his head sharply towards the Zangoose, who had now vanished as well, to where the Dragonite had been,**

" _No_ _ **…!**_ **What have I - What have we done…! They…! They're…!"**

 **Corphish scuttled to his side and urged him to his feet.**

" **C'mon, recruit, snap out of it!" he said, clicking his pincers in an agitated fashion.**

" **But, Corphish, I…! We…!"**

" _We_ **didn't do anything!" the guild member insisted, "They've had their souls sapped clean out, Howl! They're already lost! Our attacks stopped 'em bein' able to fight anymore, and their possessor knows when that's the case and drains 'em of their power too! You want the culprit who took their lives, look no further than** _him_ _ **!**_ **Now** _get up_ _ **!"**_

 **Howl staggered under the shoving and hurried to Illume, who remained fallen on the ground.**

" **Get off me!" she spat, swiping her claws as he made to help her up.**

" **Illume!" he snarled, but she ignored him and made to stand up, but her wounds were too deep and she collapsed, groaning.**

 **More giant rocks continued to fall all around them, some down on the beach, some around the outskirts of town and by the looks of things, more were due to fall in their path at any moment, so Howl lifted her into his arms and continued as fast as his legs could carry him along the path, Corphish and Loudred sprinting at his side.**

Rowan, for the third time, was startled awake as their guide's growl rumbled briefly but loudly through the cave walls.

Sally was greatly unsettled by his condition, and as she looked towards his slumbering face, she felt her worries deepen even further.

"Should we wake him up?" she asked uncertainly.

"No," Rowan answered, and though his tone sounded irritated, there was a hint of concern behind it, reinforced by his expression as he too looked towards the Pokémon.

"Why not?"

"He's just having a bad dream. I think he can handle it."

"That doesn't look like a bad dream to me, it looks like a full-on night-terror! He looks like he's actually suffering in there!"

"Sally, he'd probably be ticked or embarrassed if we woke him up. 'Far as we know, he sleep-talks every night and he could just be having a normal, slightly-unpleasant dream and sleep-talking during it."

"Rowan. If I was having a 'slightly-unpleasant dream' and you could see that, wouldn't you wake me up?"

"Well… Well, yeah, of course I-"

"He's been through so much already. For us, even. This is the least we could do for him."

"Sally, don't-! He's not going to-"

Her hand had been an inch away from his shoulder when the Pidgey suddenly chirruped in alarm and Sally recoiled as Howl's claws slid out from the ends of his fingers and raked across the ground, stopping just beside her foot.

She backed off slowly, and said in a voice barely above a whisper,

"Never mind. Let's just…"

Rowan nodded, but wistfully, and his still-worried expression belied his tone of agreement.

 **An Excadrill burst out from underneath where Wigglytuff had stood and spun round, slashing at Sunflora and blocking the unharmed Guildmaster as he rushed to counter them. But the Guildmaster only had one good arm to fight with, and as soon as the Shadow had raised its free arm to strike, Wigglytuff had no choice but to leap back out of harm, and as the Excadrill made to follow after him, Bidoof leapt through the air and tackled it down, which left it as vulnerable as an upturned Torkoal for the Guildmaster to use his Disable on it. The instant it was paralysed, the mark on its centre became erratic with its dark energy and obscured its victim from view for barely five seconds when it finally dispersed, leaving nothing behind in its wake.**

" **I'm sorry…" said the Guildmaster, his voice unsteady, "I-I'm sorry, I…!"**

" **Guildmaster, watch-!" Sunflora cried as a Tyranitar fired Hyper Beam directly for him, but Bidoof leapt into the air and shielded him with his own body, and was sent hurtling back and crashed into the watering hole beside the cliff.**

" **NO!" Wigglytuff cried, "Bidoof!"**

 **Sunflora leapt up and fired Leaf Storm at the Shadow, but the Type was weak to it and the Tyranitar fired a Hyper Beam at her too, which exploded upon the ground which she'd been about to land on and sent her through the air and straight on top of Loudred.**

" **Guildmaster!" Howl called, setting Illume down as Wigglytuff, driven by rage, had attacked the Tyranitar with a Move straight from his one good arm. His strike had connected well, and the Shadow staggered slightly, but recovered and blocked his following attack in no time and began to swing its claws in a frenzy at Wigglytuff, who was forced to back away until he was in danger of falling over Bidoof on the ground. Howl charged forwards at maximum speed, leapt into the air and struck the Shadow with both feet. He fell down on top of his opponent, and before they even had time to see who had attacked, Howl struck it hard right upon its head, once, twice, thrice, and concluded with a Force Palm straight into its chest that marked it as a Shadow.**

" **Bidoof!" he cried too, leaping off the fading creature and hurrying to where Sunflora, Loudred, Corphish, Wigglytuff and Illume had all gathered.**

" **It's OK," said Sunflora reassuringly, knelt beside their fallen companion, "The attack missed his vital organs. I think he just passed out."**

 **Wigglytuff sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his hand whilst Loudred gave a sigh of relief and muttered, "Stupid rookie…!"**

 **The relief did not last long, however, for even as they recovered their wits, another roar fell from the heavens and more Shadows began to descend from within the crimson skies.**

" **This is bad…" said Corphish, and he was right; all the guild members and the Guildmaster himself had suffered grievous injuries before the current attack, and now each of them looked as though they were almost at their limit. They seemed ready to run, and seemed to have just enough strength left to escape, but if they were caught anywhere along their retreat, they would not stand a chance.**

 **Howl, with a grunt, opened the eye which Illume had struck and found that he could still see with it just fine, though at the cost of blinking blood out of it. With this came a realisation that brought a number of tiny emotions in its wake: fear; pride; determination; and a small hint of sorrow. But it was only right for it to be this way. There was only one of them who was anywhere near their full strength.**

 **His eyes burned more than they had ever done in his life, and his insides blazed like an active volcano. Finally, after so much, he would be able to repay his life-long debt…**

" **Everyone," he said, his voice taking even him by surprise, "You all go on ahead. I…**

 **I'll catch up to you."**

 **The guild Pokémon's faces mirrored each-other's expressions, and Sunflora asked, "What? Howl, what are you saying?"**

" **If we're caught out in the open, none of us will make it, and if any of us do, we won't be able to carry our comrades to safety.**

… **One of us has to hang back and draw the Shadows' attention.**

 **And… that has to be me."**

 **The guild Pokémon all shouted their responses over one-another, but loudest of all – even louder than Loudred – was that of Wigglytuff.**

" **Howl, how dare you even suggest-! You know our rules! Never, ever, ever let one of our own fight alone! You've only just come back to us! We need you now! We'll find a way, we always do! We can fight our way out!"**

 **Howl shook his head and wore the very same smile he had worn on the day of his departure.**

" **Guildmaster… it's been an honour without rival to fight at your side. I am a recruit of Wigglytuff's guild down to the very core. All of us are sworn to use our strength to protect! Never before has that oath been so important! If I failed in the past, an individual may have continued to suffer, or even worse, an innocent life would have been lost and families left to grieve… Now, if I fail, the whole world will be robbed of truly great heroes!**

 **For the sake of Treasure Town, Wigglytuff's Guild and everything that it stands for,** _please_ **! Let me fight and repay you! For raising me! For training me! For giving my life meaning!"**

" **Howl, you can't fight all of them on your own!" Sunflora cried, tears leaking freely, "They aren't trying to beat us, they're trying to destroy us! You can't win against all of them! You… you'll** _die_ _ **!"**_

" **We have** _not_ **waited for you for so long just for you to come back and then just-"** **said Corphish, but Howl replied calmly, "I won't die. Remember our rules again?** **'Failure is not an option'** _ **?**_ **I** _will_ **survive. I'm not planning on defeating them all, I'm going to stall them, and I'll make it out of here if I have to crawl. Let me do this. Please."**

 **Before anyone else had time to reply, Illume's voice spoke from within their midst.**

" **Go."**

 **On trembling legs, she staggered into view and glared towards her partner. There was nothing to be seen within her black eyes. Not a shred of anything other than contempt.**

" **If that's what you want to do, there's nothing we can do to stop you, is there? Once you've made up your mind, just forget what anybody else has to say about it, right? Good-bye, partner.**

… **Thanks for** _everything_ _ **.**_ **"**

" **Illume!" Wigglytuff sobbed, but Howl met Illume's gaze stolidly and said, "This is not good-bye, Illume. I'll come back, I swear. I'll come back, and I'll make this right. You can hate me all you want, but all I will ever ask is – someday – for you to forgive me. I won't ask for things to be the way they were, or for you to even like me anymore, but just believe me when I tell you how sorry I truly am…"**

 **Every fibre of his being convulsed. His partner, his dearest friend had taken a step forwards, placed her palms on his shoulders and pushed him with all the strength she could muster.**

" **I** _said_ _ **…**_ **GO!** _ **"**_

 **She lifted her head, and her eyes were brimming with unsuppressed tears** _ **.**_

" **Just get out…!**

 **Get out of here, and this time, don't bother coming back…!"**

" **Illume!" Wigglytuff blubbered, "He'll die! Howl will-! Howl, NO! COME BACK!"**

 **But the recruit, unable to bear hearing another word, had turned, sprinted away and roared,**

" **Now, go! I'll hold them off to the best of my ability!"**

 **-as loudly as he possibly could, and still, even louder, Illume's words were carried to his ears like dust riding a breath of wind,**

" **You hear me?!" she cried, "This time, don't come back!"**

His grunts and mumblings came to an abrupt halt, and as Sally looked towards him, she felt the air leave her lungs entirely. She was genuinely stunned…!

 **Howl skidded to a halt in the town centre and turned his eyes to the sky as the Shadows began to fall inside their flaming capsules to the earth. Two crashed down and destroyed the homes to his left and right, and with barely time to blink, the Shadows burst free and Howl charged at the one closest to him, determined to take them down before they'd even awoke.**

It was too much.

The stream of tear that fell from his closed eyes could only mean one thing, and she would not sit idly by and let it continue. They ought to have done this long ago, she thought. She shuffled towards him carefully and squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Howl," she whispered, careful not to wake Rowan, who had finally managed to fall asleep, "Howl… Hey…"

A final grunt, a flash of red, a snarl of immense depth, and then suddenly blood was thundering through her brain and hammering within her ears as she struggled with all her might to dislodge the charcoal-black paw clasped around her throat.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _Wow... I never really do these, do I?  
Umm... Hi.  
_

 _Sorry this chapter was a little behind schedule. It ended up going on for a bit longer than I had anticipated, and I didn't want to exclude ideas or cut the chapter abruptly short._

 _However, doing that seems to have worn me out quite a bit. I think this is the first proper burnout I have experienced writing this story._

 _Not to worry, though. My enjoyment for writing this story and my passion for writing in general haven't fallen by a fraction. Just that the chapter after this one will almost certainly be later than usual._

 _This isn't me putting the story on hiatus._

 _This isn't me saying I'm not enjoying anymore._

 _This is just me needing a week or so to give my brain a rest and to regain the feeling in my fingers._

 _Sorry for that / thank you for understanding._

 _Oh, and while I'm here, I'd like to take a moment to thank those of you lovely people who have left me kind 'guest' reviews which I was unable to respond to as FanFiction doesn't allow that. Your support and feedback really means a lot, so know that I did see your reviews, and I did appreciate them muchly._

 _Alright, that's me for the day. I'ma go lie down now._

 _-Relic8 signing off!-_


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter Eighteen:**_

 _ **The Traveller's World**_

"Sally," said a familiar voice gently.

She started and sat bolt upright.

"What?!" she said, alarmed, "What is it? What?"

"It's morning," Rowan replied, "Howl says it's time for us to move."

Without conscious thought, her hand lingered for a moment in the air beside her neck as it went up to rub her eyes.

A series of clatters made them both jump and look towards the end of the cave, where their guide was emptying a large, tattered sack of its contents onto the ground. Once the final item had fallen from within – a framed piece of parchment that their guide picked up and scanned for a minute before setting it atop the pile – the Pokémon moved towards the charred ashes that remained of their campfire and stocked what remained of the food the Pidgey had gathered into the tattered sack.

Slinging it across his body, he broke a single fruit in two and handed a half to each of them.

"On your feet," he said, his tone brusque, "We need to make a start on covering some more notable distance."

The Pidgey fluttered onto the top of his head and stretched her wings wide, yawning, and chirruped a few presumed words to Howl, who replied in Pokémon tongue, then began to walk along the cave's passage.

Sally bit into the fruit and found it's taste bland and watery, but at least quenched some of her thirst. Rowan helped her up as they followed their guide out of the cave for the final time and into the open.

Their view was hindered slightly by the thin layer of fog in the air, shaded a soft blue-ish colour by the brightening sky above, and the sun – just barely visible below the horizon – was a dull glow instead of a mighty blaze.

Rowan and Sally both rubbed their eyes and blinked hard to try and wake themselves fully in the relatively dim light they were given, and wrapped their cloaks more securely around their bodies to protect against the sudden chill.  
Howl said,

"We need to get moving as soon as we can. You can expect more early mornings in the future, but as long as we keep moving, this journey will nearly be over before you know it."

Rowan's mouth thinned. He had never been much good at handling early starts, but held back from complaining, and Sally knew, with a hint of affection, that the reality of just who their guide was and how true his promise to protect them had been was finally starting to sink in.

The little Pidgey took to the air, fluttering slightly in the lead, and the three set off, ready to leave their small, cramped shelter behind for good.

It was quiet going for the most part; their group was quite alone as they trekked along the mountain path, and hardly a breath of wind was heard along the way. As their course began to slope downwards a little, their space for walking began to progressively increase until Howl informed them that they had gone around the mountain by about a quarter of its width, and were now nearing the point that joined it to its neighbouring, taller mountain, and that by descending down from the valley between them, they would reach level ground at last.

As foliage began to return to their surroundings, the sky grew brighter, and soon afterwards they could hear the sound of water flowing somewhere nearby.  
Eventually, after following the sound of running water and climbing down a slope littered with loose stones, they found a stream that had woven its way down the mountain from perhaps the very peak, where Howl decided it would be a good time for them to stop and refill their flasks.

"Hey, where are you-?" Rowan began uncertainly.

Sally lowered her flask from her mouth and followed his gaze.

"Just gonna go wash," Howl replied, "I hate being covered in all this..."

His paw motioned towards the fur on his middle, hips and legs, which was stained almost beyond recognition with his own blood, and Rowan nodded his understanding.

"I'm just past the corner. I won't go far."

The two watched him go, and Sally made to reach into her luggage for food, but Rowan asked quietly,

"You feeling OK? How's your leg?"

"I'm fine," she said at once, and, "You're the one who got beat up by the Feral, I should be asking you if _**you're**_ okay!"

"Sally, come on, don't change the subject. I noticed you limping a little back th-"

"Oh, who's changing the subject? Are you actually all right, Rowan? Does your back still hurt? Are your-"

"Sally, listen to me! This is serious!"

She hesitated.

"I… I'm sure it's fine," she said uncomfortably, "I mean, I can walk on it no problem, so…"

"Lemme see."

Again she hesitated, but could see there was little point in arguing and slipped her boot off cautiously and rolled her stocking down to her ankle.

Rowan carefully unravelled the bandage they had tied and took one look at her injury before his brow furrowed and he let go, strode towards the stream and wetted a cloth in the icy water before striding back to her side.

"You need to tell us when you're in pain," he said solemnly.

"I-I didn't realise…!" she said, "But it doesn't hurt!"

"That could be just as bad as if it hurt a lot," he retorted sternly, "The skin around the cut is all red. It could be getting infected."

"We cleaned it. _**You**_ cleaned it," she said dryly, "Are you ever gonna stop worrying about me?"

"Maybe someday."

"Well, I hope that'll be someday soon. If I have to hear if I'm OK every morning, noon and night when we're on the island, honestly, I think _**that**_ will be the thing that drives me crazy rather than being isolated from any kind of society."

She winced as he brushed the cloth over her leg, but no sooner had it happened when Rowan noticed her discomfort and proceeded with the utmost care.

As soon as Rowan and Sally's voices were almost out of earshot, Howl's legs finally gave out and he fell to the ground on all fours, panting like a Stoutland under the hot sun. He clutched his swimming head and heard the noise of the running waters begin to drift away from him. His tail was dragged limp along the ground as he scrabbled desperately towards the stream and began to scoop water into his parched mouth.

"Mister?" the Pidgey's voice said, but before she could say more, Howl plunged his entire face into the stream and gulped down entire mouthfuls at a time.

Water…! Pure stream-water…! Why had he never appreciated such a wonderful drink before? Its definitively bland taste, the way its icy chill numbed his tongue, the way it made his teeth ache, the way it cooled his burning body and moistened his dry throat – a drink truly unlike any other!

Finally he had to stop for air and rolled onto his back, panting deeply, trying to keep his breaths steady.

"Mister!" said Pidgey again, and he managed to reply,

"I'm fine… I'm fine…"

"No, you're not!"

"This isn't new to me. I can handle it."

"You're being stupid! You need to take is easy and re-"

"I've rested enough."

-and before she could complete her retort, he rolled over once more, cupped his paws together and drank some more of the freezing water.

"You should drink some too," he said between mouthfuls, "You're not exactly in good health yourself. That human barely fed you for days, you told me."

"But I'm not the one doing all the heavy lifting! Maybe you can travel OK, just, but what if another Feral attacks us? What if it's more than one this time?!"

It was a few moments before Howl replied.

"I'll take them down," he said with a soft growl, "no matter what."

"And what if you get hurt even more?!"

"I'll strike from a distance."

"Mister, stop it! You're not taking this seriously! What if you-"

"I _**am**_ ," he said with all the force he could muster, "As I just told you, this isn't new to me. I know what I'm doing, and trust me, I don't plan on taking unnecessary risks. But the longer I stay out here, the more endangered I leave others whom are very, very important to me. We have to keep moving forward."

"If they're so important to you, why're you even leaving 'em in the first place?! And why're those two monsters back there following you around?!"

He drank several more mouthfuls before answering.

"All you need to know is that we've worked out a deal between us, and as long as I'm around – in general – they won't even think about harming you."

"And why's that?"

"…They know what'll happen if they try."

He looked away then, and filled the flask he'd taken from the cave-dwelling man's belongings with water and began to pour it across his body, dragging his claws through his fur like a brush.

When they had set off again, it was with a little more energy and haste, and after a half-hour of climbing atop mossy rocks that formed ledges up into a tree-shrouded route, and Howl hacking through branches and vines that intercepted their course, the sunlight began to filter more strongly through the trees canopies above, pummelling its brilliance upon their heavy eyelids.

Howl wrestled through a mass of roots that protruded from a huge fallen tree before them, and Sally was aware all the time that he tugged and wrenched the roots apart of how heavy his breathing was, and had noticed as they'd been heading uphill the way he'd been walking with an _**almost**_ unnoticeable limp. She was bursting to intervene, to tell him to stop and recover his strength, but in reality, she was struggling to keep up herself, and Rowan fared no better than either of them.  
She realised then how vulnerable their party was at the time; their guide and protector dizzy and sickly, and she and Rowan both tired, cut and battered along their limbs and faces.

With a grunt, Howl pulled hard and dislodged the final root, nearly hitting Rowan in the eye, and said to them both,

"All right… We should be… at the in-between point now…"

His telepathic voice sounded strained.

Before either of them could comment on it, he moved on swiftly towards where the trees parted near the end of the trail and stopped at the very end of it.

"There it is…" he said with the smallest hint of satisfaction hidden in his tone, "Take a look."

They mimicked his steps, and as they drew level with him, Sally and Rowan were both unable to mask their astonishment.

The view that met their gaze was unlike anything they had ever seen in their lives.

The sun had at last risen above the skyline and bright daylight rippled from the right over the valley's long grass, shading them to a pale gold; thick clouds loomed above as individuals utterly apart from one another, allowing the ghostly-blue of the heavens to flicker down upon the miniature forests of beech, where leaves were beginning to turn their autumn hue, a scatter of bark-brown and crimson among the green.

The neighbouring, taller mountain towered above far, far out across the lump-strewn terrain, various trees dotted the landscape, and streams and rivers crisscrossed the mountain surface, their running waters carried to their ears by the gentle breeze that swept over the expanse.

"Incredible…!" Rowan breathed.

"Like a dream…!" Sally concurred in the same tone.

Howl gave a single deep chuckle, and the Pidgey took flight into the air, fluttering down to the prairie below.

Howl flicked his paw, beckoning for them to follow as he sank to the ground and began to make his way steadily down the steep, rocky slope.

Once they reached level ground and were submerged waist-deep in long grass, the Pidgey took point up above and relayed to Howl when there was unsafe footing and potential dangers concealed in their path.

They scrambled on across the chilling rivers, trekked up and down the miniature hills along the way, and forded on through the tall, thick grass, and all the while that the neighbouring mountain drew steadily closer and closer, Rowan and Sally were both marvelling at just about everything there was to be seen. A place so remote, so detached from the bustling towns they were accustomed to, nature's creation all around, completely untouched by settlers.

Or so it seemed for almost a full hour, until the Pidgey fluttered down and twittered in a noticeably more agitated tone.

"Smoke?" Howl replied, "Where?"

She flew up high into the air and Howl left Sally and Rowan's questions unanswered to run towards and then leap up into a tree, appearing from within its canopy moments later.

"Is it a Fire-Type Feral?" he asked as Pidgey hovered beside him, staring, like him, out towards the column of black haze.

"I don't think so," she replied, "I could barely even see the actual fire. It must be tiny."

"In that case, it may not even be a Pokémon, never mind a Feral…"

"I'll take a closer look," she began, fluttering forward, "while you-"

But a sudden firm hold on her leg prevented her from finishing her sentence, let alone going anywhere.

"Oh, will you just-?! I'll stay high up! If there _**is**_ anybody there, they'll never even know I was scouting ar-"

"Right where the way down is, as well…" Howl mumbled absent-mindedly, eyes measuring the distance between the mountain and the fire.

"And there's more than one…" he added upon directing his Aura senses towards the obscurely-shaped lights.

"So what do we do?" said Rowan uneasily.

"You're sure there isn't any other way down?" said Sally.

"Positive," he replied, "The very ground on which we stand used to be known as the Warrior's Grounds. Powerful Pokémon would settle great disputes with one-another here, and although the place has flourished since, this used to be a desolate valley filled with fissures and craters. The slopes alongside have also become unsteady. If I had to, I could probably make it down, and Pidgey could fly, of course, but two humans as well?"

He shook his head.

"We'd have to be moving precisely side-by-side to avoid dropping anything on each-other, and still, just one wrong step, and nothing would save you then."

He stared at the ground and frowned, his drooping tail flicking from side to side irritably.

Rowan squinted towards the obstacle in their path and said suddenly,

"Guys? Whatever made that fire is moving. And there's definitely more than one."

And he was right. As they followed his gaze, they could see figures heading in separate directions across what little of the valley remained to them, and two were heading clearly in their direction.

"This way – now! Move!"

They obeyed, and followed Howl swiftly towards a row of trees and slowed to a walk once they were concealed behind them.

" _ **Now**_ what do we do?" said Sally. Pidgey chirruped softly and the two humans were alarmed to hear Howl suddenly growl,

"Not a chance!"

As they stepped out of their seclusion, Howl said at last, "You, fly up high and stay there until I call you down. If anyone does end up drawing their attention, it's going to be me, not you." The Pidgey twittered angrily, but Howl snarled,

" _ **Go**_!"

-and she obeyed him without further argument.

Howl's Sensors lifted, and after some moments, he said,

"Sally, Rowan, listen. Our quarry is, unmistakeably, a human group."

"How d'you know that?" said Rowan, but the Pokémon went on,

"There's a chance they may not recognise you as wanted criminals, and for the sake of that chance, it would be best if Pidgey and I kept out of sight. However, if they do recognise you, rest assured we'll be at your side before you can blink."

"What are you getting at?" said Sally.

He crouched inside a verdant hollow for cover, and they followed him.

"The two of you will try to slip past as nonchalantly as you possibly can. If you're spotted, act just as surprised as they are, and try to keep heading on as well as you can."

"So don't act suspicious?"

"Exactly."

"What if they're monster hunters?" said Rowan, "They'll recognise us the moment they see our faces."

"If they are, and if they do, I'll deal with them." Howl replied before glancing out into the distance.

"Now's your chance. Head in that direction, and I'll be close. Go."

There was no time to debate, and unwillingly they hastened to do as he said, keeping their distance from the roaming strangers and heading steadily towards the two wagons that were parked close to where the fire was burning.

The mountain loomed high over them as they finally began to turn left and close the distance between them and their quarry, each of them unable to stop themselves from nervously scouring the surroundings for their protector, and caught fleeting glimpses of a blue streak of fur moving from cover to cover or crouching beneath the long grass, trailing alongside their course, but other than that, they were well and truly on their own.

As their feet met dusty earth and were mere paces away from the closest wagon, Howl's voice suddenly said,

"Wait."

In the silence, footsteps were heard exiting the wagon furthest from them.

"Go round the other way," he instructed, and they crossed to the opposite end of the wagon just as a somewhat portly woman walked over to the fire and began to work on stirring something in a boiling pot.

They treaded carefully, moving out of seclusion only when their guide told them to, and not a sound could be heard other than the woman's quiet humming and the froth of whatever she was heating.

Their course that would lead them down was just in sight when Howl growled,

"Wait - get back, quickly!"

And Sally, late to react, was pulled back out of sight as the woman by the fire raised her head and called heartily,

"Well now! Seems We were right to scrounge all the way up here, weren't we, boys?"

Reluctant groans reached their ears.

"Ma," came a young male voice, "None of us thought it were a bad spot to forage, but I really hope you appreciate how lucky we are to have had such a safe trip, let alone survive ten minutes all the way out here!"

"Don't talk nonsense," the woman replied, "This is just as dangerous as any other spots we search. The townsfolk aren't exactly well-informed about this land, are they?"

"Only crazy folk and monster hunters go up into those mountains, they said to us; any alternate foraging locations would be much, much better for one's survival. And their sanity. Which would already be questionable if they were considering heading up here."

"Are you questioning your dear, sainted mother's sanity, Bradley?"

"N-No! No, Ma, I-"

His mother cut him off roughly, and before Sally or Rowan could look to see just how many there were, there came a high screech from up above within the clouds.

"What in the _**world**_?" the woman's voice gasped, and Howl's voice carried clearly to their minds,

"Now, you two! Make a break for it!"

They moved out from beyond their cover and strode away from the stricken, chattering voices, glancing over their shoulders almost constantly until their feet found the way that sloped gradually down, and their guide's voice said,

"Now! Run!"

-and they abandoned caution, running as fast as they could without falling down the slope.

After what felt like ten minutes, they struggled to slow themselves and looked back towards the top of the incline.

"W-We… should keep going," Rowan panted, "We're too exposed… we should keep heading farther down un-"

"But Howl…!" Sally cut across him, "I-If we go too far, h-he won't be able to find us…!"

"We can't stick around in case the people to find us…! C'mon, Sally!"

He grasped her wrist and urged her along, and she was too breathless to argue back, but glanced over her shoulder all the same as they followed the mountain road, swerving gradually down to the right.

Another five-or-so minutes passed until their strength was sapped and they could no longer run, only walk down the slope, their legs only just holding their weight until Sally's foot slipped on smooth stone and she fell down flat on her side, all the breath knocked out of her.

"Whoa!" Rowan's voice rang – calm at first until he turned on the spot and found his own foot sliding dangerously along the rock's surface.

"You OK there?" he asked, helping her up.

"Stupid-"

Sally muttered a few choice words before replying with, "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright, just that… _**stupid**_ rock!"

"Don't," Rowan grasped her arm, "Don't punch the rock. You won't win."

"Oh, look at you wising up-"

Sally clenched her teeth and repressed a yell, sinking back to her knees.

"Sally?! What's wrong?!"

"My leg…"

"What is it? Did you fall on it?"

"I-I'm not sure… Maybe."

"Here, let me…

Sally, you're bleeding again!"

"Oh, joy…"

"And it looks like it's been bleeding awhile now!" he added on closer inspection, "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"OK, calm down, will you? You're getting more upset about it than me-"

"Great; infected," he cut across her, his tone bitter.

"What? No, no, it's just…"

"I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure a clean cut isn't supposed to look like _**that**_ ," he said, reaching into his satchel and wetting a cloth with water from his flask, "We'll just have to keep trying to clean it. Maybe we can keep it from getting worse."

"Rowan, no-" she started to say, but he snapped,

"Sally, we can't just ignore this anymore! If you get sick-"

"Rowan, not now! Look!"

He followed her finger towards the way they'd come and saw, like she had, that the wagons had begun to move at last, clattering down the slope along the only path available, and were due to cross with theirs at any given moment.

Rowan cast around wildly.

"I-I…!" he stammered, "Can – Can you get up?"

"I think…"

He took her hand and helped her to her feet, but as soon as she made to walk, they found that her leg was unable to support her enough to do so.

"M-Maybe…!" Rowan scoured their surroundings, searching for a place for them to hide, but the mountain road held little to nothing aside from an abundance of brambles and venomous-looking foliage.

"We'll just have to move. Maybe we can find-"

"No," Sally said leading him by the arm to the side, "This way, here."

They moved towards a flat patch of earth off the main road and she sank awkwardly to the ground, taking out her flask and hiding her injured leg with her cloak.

In their current state there was little to no chance of outrunning the wagons, and with nowhere for them to hide, they were unable to avoid being seen by the people, but Sally remembered what their guide had said about them appearing unsuspicious…

If, she thought, they could make it seem like they were merely common hikers doing nothing more than walking up the mountain road and happening to stop for rest, perhaps – just _**perhaps**_ – the people would think nothing of them and move on…

Either way, they were drawing close now, and this was the only option they had. If there was nowhere for them to hide, they would have to resort to doing so in plain sight.

As the first wagon begun to close the distance between them, they saw that peculiar kinds of Pokémon were pulling it along; not the creatures they had seen going to and from Rota Village with the flaming manes and tails. The ones they saw were covered in brown fur with brown-orange hooves, large black horns that curved over their backs and large, green, leafy collars that wrapped around their necks and rested upon their chests. Steering the wagon was a young man who was glancing back over the top of the wagon back towards the slope, as if checking for some invisible pursuers, and it was thanks to this that he did not so much as glance at Sally and Rowan until he had driven right past them.

"Whoa, whoa there! Slow down!" a voice from the wagon behind suddenly called to his companion, yanking hard on the reins to make the vehicle stop.

Keeping her expression perplexed, Sally turned her gaze to the one who had seen them, now stepping down from his seat and approaching them.

"Uhh… hello there?" she said blandly, "Can I help you at all?"

"You folks really shouldn't be here," the stranger said, breathless, "It's real dangerous."

"Dangerous?" she echoed, her tone puzzled, "How d'you mean? We always come for walks up here, it's a great spot for exercise. We don't go that far into the mountains anyway, we know there're creatures up there."

"Yeah, exactly that," he replied, "One of 'em is followin' us – reckon we set foot on their turf or summin'."

"What?! Are you serious?" she asked, leaning back to scour the mountain road,

"I don't see anything like that," Rowan supported, "Are you sure you saw something following you guys?"

"We heard it clear as a bell and saw something rustling the grass - there's no doubt about it!"

"I really don't think-"

"Now come on, y'all!" he said, his tone desperate, "You can hop on in the wagon wit' us – we'll take you back to the town."

"No, no, it's okay, we'll head back on our own soon-"

"BRADLEY!" a woman's voice bellowed from the front wagon, "Get a move on, boy, it's still following us!"

"Ma, we can't leave strangers out here!" he shouted back, glancing back up the road as he spoke, "Now come on, I'm sorry, but we'll never stop worrying otherwise!" He grasped Sally's arm and pulled her hastily to her feet, and when she gasped in pain, his eyes widened, "Hey? What's the matter, miss?"

"Her leg's a bit-" Rowan began.

"No, I'm fine, I'm _**fine**_ ," Sally reassured, waving away their concerns, but the man named Bradley had noticed the bandage wrapped around Rowan's head and said "You folks are all banged up!"

"What, this?" said Rowan, "Nah, it's fine, man, just a bump-"

"Morgan!" Bradley called, cutting across Rowan, "C'mere and help these two into the wagon, quickly!"

" _ **No**_!" Sally shouted, just barely managing to sound exasperated instead of terrified, "We're fine, I'm telling you – we can walk down-"

-but the family seemed to neither hear nor care for their protests and the youth supported her on his shoulder and a young woman, presumably his sister, rushed forward to lead Rowan alongside them towards the wagon in front.

"Howl…!" Sally breathed, peering over her shoulder desperately as she was forced to limp away, but there was no sign of their guide. No streak of blue fur in the distance, no gruff voice in her mind. What was happening? Why wasn't he interfering?!

"Here ya are, hun," said a voice from above, and she felt someone take hold of her arms and lift her up the steps into the wagon, and before she knew it, she was being seated next to Rowan, the sound of a whip cracking met her ears and they were moving down the bumpy road, further and further away from their unseen guide.

A voice snapped Sally out of her reverie and she blinked and looked towards the person sitting opposite her.

"Sorry, what?" she asked. The woman - whom she assumed to be the mother of the family - responded,

"I said we'd best have a look at that leg, sweetheart." She spoke with a villager's accent, like her son Bradley, and her face was warm with full, sun-kissed cheeks.

"My boy tells me you two are hurt pretty badly. Let me have a look."

"O-Oh…" she struggled to respond, "No… thank you, it's really not that bad."

"Oh, hush now," she said moving over to her side of the wagon and jostling Rowan a little out the way. She hefted Sally's leg up onto the seat and unwrapped the bandage Rowan had begun to tie around it.

"Sweet, merciful…!" she gasped, "How did this happen?!"

"Agh…" Sally groaned irritably, "Do I have to answer that?"

"You poor thing…" she said, reaching into a box full of herbs and picking out a select few before grinding them into powder and applying them to a cloth with some hot water, steaming slightly.

"Here now, love… Hold still…"

"Son of a-!" Sally clenched her eyes shut tight and gripped the rim of her seat. The woman laughed, but not unkindly.

"Now, now, no need for that." She bound the wound tight in a fresh bandage and pressed Sally's hand over it.

"Keep it elevated on the seat and keep some pressure over it 'til we arrive in the town. That medicine oughta clear up any germs stuck in there. Here," she handed her a jar of some lime-green powdery substance and said, "When you get home, clean that leg up with some warm water and put some more of that over it when you're done. It's my own remedy. Go on, it's yours to keep."

"I can't accept that!" said Sally, reaching for her wallet, but the woman waved her hand,

"Come now, love, – can't have you spending all your savings on the expensive, inefficient malarkey you'll find in town… How about if you want to thank me, you can tell me how you got such a nasty cut."

Sally slumped her shoulders glumly.

"Well…" she said at last, glaring past her shoulder to the person seated behind her, "You might want to ask him."

Rowan turned his head awkwardly from the younger sister who was mopping his forehead with a cloth to meet her gaze, stung.

"Me?! What'd I do?"

"You gotta be kidding," Sally replied in a deadpan tone.

Rowan's eyes lit up for a split-second, mirroring his understanding before he responded with convincing hesitation,

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

" _ **Let's go this way**_ , you said; _**it's faster**_ , you said; _**the view up this way is seriously the best!**_ …You said."

"We always go for walks up here, what're you attacking me for? – I got hurt too, ya know-"

"This was _**your**_ idea, you utter, utter _**moron**_!" Sally shouted, startling the wagon's passengers and even the Pokémon pulling the vehicle gave noises of alarm,

"You…!" she repeated in response to his smirk, gesturing frantically with her hand to her leg and to his forehead, "You did this! This was entirely your fault! - Wipe that smug look of your smug mug-"

"All right, all right now, calm down," said the woman, both alarmed and repressing a smile, "Let's not play the blame game, all right? It's not a matter of whose fault it is-"

"It's his. All of it."

"Well, maybe so, maybe not, but I hope you've both learned your lesson."

"Ya hear that?" said Sally, addressing Rowan, who shook his head as though he'd given up trying to reason with her.

The woman sat back down between them and said, "It'll be awhile 'til we reach the town. How about you tell us your names?"

She gestured to herself and said, "We're the Masons. I'm Helen; this here's my daughter Morgan; driving us is my husband; and in the wagon behind are my sons Bradley and Timothy."

Sally replied,

"I'm Lisa. And he's Jack."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both. I must ask, what brings a pair of youngsters up this way into the mountains?"

"Helen…" came a weary voice from the wagon's driver, but,

"Now you just quiet down! No harm in simply asking!" –was Helen's seemingly reflexive reply.

"You don't mind me askin', do you?" she added, glancing between them both.

"We like to take walks up here," said Rowan, inventing wildly, "I mean, yeah, there's a bit of a risk, but it's still a nice spot."

"Ah! So you live in the town, then? I surely haven't seen you around before…"

"No," said Sally, her brain working furiously, "No, we… we're from Rota Village. Our grandparents live here, and we visit them as much as we can."

"Ah, so you two are relatives… Well your grandparents are lucky to have kids like you visiting them regularly. I don't suppose they're the-"

"Helen!" said the driver again, a little angrily this time.

"Oh, what is it now, you old fool?! I'm allowed to ask them questions!"

"I don't think it's any of our business who their family is or why they're visitin' them. Folks are entitled to a little privacy, especially the young'uns."

"We ain't asking them anything personal, are we, Morgan?"

"Ma…" she responded, tilting her palm to and fro, and leaning forward to continue treating Rowan's cut forehead, "They look tired… Let's leave 'em alone."

Helen grumbled irritably, but conceded and gave a smile and shrug to Sally and Rowan as if they had taken her side of the conflict.

The wagon rolled further and further down the hills, rounded the corners and drew steadily closer and closer to the cluster of buildings waiting for them near the base of the mountain, and all the while, Sally and Rowan stole glances at their surroundings whenever they could, but Howl was nowhere to be seen. And before they knew it, they could feel the wagon reaching a consistently level ground, hear voices calling out, and hear a rattle of large gates being opened for them.

Unable to see their protector anywhere, and with no opportunity or place for them to run or hide, their eyes could do naught be find each-others, and each found the other's face mirroring their own dread.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter Nineteen:**_

 _ **Wanted**_

Voices, upon the wagon slowing to a halt, was the first sound to meet their ears. Raised voices in the distance, calling unseen people to browse their hand-crafted wares, voices of high-spirited conversation and the sound of bells chiming their gentle notes across the chatter, bidding the waking settlement good-morning.

"Here you are, lass," said the driver, helping her down the step and easing her onto her faulty leg.

She heard the mother speak, but it was only when Rowan nudged her on the elbow that she snapped back to her senses.

"Sorry?" she said, looking round.

"Yes," said Helen, nodding to herself, "that settles it. C'mere, love, rest your arm here, I'll support you."

"W-What?"

"No, really," Rowan intervened, "thank you, but we can make it from here, honest."

"Don't be silly, Jack, you two are in no shape to be left alone. Your parents will be worried sick if-"

"It's not far!" he replied sincerely, "You guys have done enough for us, and you've got your own goods to sell! We can manage from here on."

"Yeah, really," Sally concurred.

The woman had been about to respond, but then there came a call from the second wagon,

"Helen! We have to go, we're already late!"

"I promise it's OK," said Sally.

"But I can't just - If you were _**my**_ kids…!"

"Ma!" called Morgan.

Helen shook her head.

"Please just be careful," she implored in a soft voice, "Get home quick, you hear?"

"Of course," Rowan assured, putting Sally's arm around his shoulders.

"Thank you, Helen," said Sally, as Rowan supported her away from the wagons at last, then around a corner into the small market square. They withdrew under the balcony of a building and Rowan muttered,

"What do we do? Should we just get out?"

"Definitely," she said at once, "We can't be seen. We just have to lay low and find a way to cut through-"

"Sally, look!" Rowan said, alarmed, and when she followed the direction he was pointing, she saw the reason for the panic in his voice.

Soldiers were patrolling around the buildings and stores, and two were pinning large-printed papers onto building walls and street-lamps.

"Get in, quick!" said Rowan at once, grabbing her by the arm and hurrying through the door, closing it behind them the instant they were out of sight.

"D'you think they…?" she asked.

"I dunno," he replied, his voice trembling, "but we're in deep trouble now-"

"Welcome!" a voice said brightly across the room, "How can I help you today?"

Sally and Rowan whipped round.

They had stumbled into what looked like a general goods store, with shelves all aligned in the centre of a large room, and all packed densely with foods, medicine, trinkets and tools.

"U-Umm," Sally stammered, looking around as if examining the items piled about.

"You got any food?" Rowan asked at once, striding away from the window and up towards the counter.

The shopkeeper's smile faded as he looked the two of them over.

"Food, eh? Yeah, I got food…" he responded cautiously, "The only question is whether you two can pay."

Sally looked up, puzzled as Rowan responded,

"If I said I couldn't, would ya take pity on me?"

"This ain't a charity! Go on, escort yourselves out! I swear, the nerve of today's-"

"Wait," Sally said calmly, stepping up to join Rowan at the counter, "wait, sir, please ignore him, that's just his idea of a joke."

"Oh, a joke, was it? How original, never heard that before."

He grumbled some more, but when Sally showed a willingness to pay, he made no further comments, and with Sally merely having to stamp Rowan's feet to stop him causing further tension, they were leaving the store in minutes.

"Not even a 'come again'?" Rowan asked as they closed the door behind them, "Jeez, what was his problem?"

"You were asking him to give you the goods _**for free**_!" she snarled under her breath, glancing round for any suspicious eyes, "D'you have any idea how hard he probably has to work for that stuff?"

"I was kidding! _**Obviously**_ I was kidding!"

"How's he supposed to distinguish that from the folks who actually mean it, though?"

"Who actually means that?! I wouldn't-"

"You'd be surprised how many drunken idiots have tried sweet-talking me into giving them free drinks. And I can't speak for every small-business-owner, but hearing that after a full day of working myself into the ground tends to make me feel… near-homicidal, sometimes."

"I thought he was kidding us around though!" he retorted as they slipped off the main road into a gap between two buildings,

"Why was he asking if we could pay?"

" _ **Look**_ at us," she said simply.

She hadn't realised it before, and clearly the family in the wagon had been too polite to mention it, but the two of them were filthy; their clothes still cold from the night's rainfall, torn in places and blanketed heavily with mud. There were even some noticeable streaks of red in places.

"Oh," he said,

"Oh yeah…"

Sally ringed her hands together irritably, searching for an alternative. But she shook her head, saying,

"We can't go around like this, we're way too conspicuous. These clothes aren't fit for travelling anyway."

"Oh, so we're going clothes-shopping now?"

She gave him a deadpan stare.

"I…" he said hesitantly, "I wasn't being serious.

…Sally! There're guards patrolling around here! You said we were just gonna get out!"

"We won't be able to, looking like this. We'll stick out like a wart on the nose. I think I saw a place when we got off the wagon. C'mon, let's not hang around."

"This is crazy… This is…"

Rowan muttered some choice words, but followed her lead, each glancing around the corners before heading out and keeping off the main road,

"Where's our demon bodyguard when we need him?!" he burst out in a hushed voice, "I thought for sure he was going to stop the wagon before we got here!"

"I don't know…" she growled, "But as soon as he shows up, I swear I'm going to hit him. What's he doing leaving us for this long?!"

"Uh, really, Sally?" said Rowan, a smirk escaping him, "You're going to hit _**him**_?"

She paused before responding, opened her mouth, paused again, and then shook her head, grumbling irritably,

"Bah…"

They slipped into the crowd of townsfolk moving to and fro, some carrying bags of tools to work and others – mostly children accompanied by a parent – mingling to examine the wares that travelling merchants had on display.

As a handful of guards began to join the crowd, most heading towards the buildings to pin large-printed parchments up on their walls, Sally felt Rowan tap her on the arm, and when she looked, he had stuffed his cloak into has satchel, rolled his sleeves back, and donned a small torn cap atop his head, holding out to her a cloth for her to wrap around hers.

Biting back her questions, she took it from him and proceeded to remove her own cloak, watching out the corners of her eyes as the guards moved away, realising that yes indeed; the parchments they'd pinned up displayed the faces of wanted criminals.

Minutes later, she pulled his arm, leading him through a more compact lane away from the sprawling crowd, closer towards the way they had entered, and as her ears adjusted to the relative silence, she heard footsteps following them. At first she thought she was merely being paranoid, but when they crossed the road to keep closer to the shade of buildings, she glanced back felt a chill down her spine.

"A guard!" she whispered, "He's following us!"

"Yeah, yeah, I see him," Rowan hissed, "just act natural – _**don't**_ look at him!"

She heeded his advice, and kept her eyes fixed ahead. It was only as the moments stretched on, however, that she was unable to prevent her pulse quickening rapidly. A small throng of people had broken away from the bulk of the crowd and were beginning to fill the quiet street, and as they drew closer towards it, they heard the voice from directly behind them say,

"You two! Stay where you are!"

Sally clenched her knuckles. The building they sought was directly ahead, yet there was no way for them to slip inside unseen. Perhaps if they were to hide amongst the crowd…

"Halt, I said!"

A door behind them opened and multiple footsteps clamoured across the pavement accompanied by loud voices, and Rowan and Sally strode ahead towards the shop, reaching the door in seconds. Sally grasped the handle and pulled, stole a glance over her shoulder and then, for but a moment, hesitated. She couldn't see the guard anywhere; neither beyond nor forcing his way through the workers who had intercepted them, and she could hear no trace of his voice.

"Sally!"

She jumped and hurried inside, closing the door behind her.

The shop inside was larger and more packed with people, so much so that the two newcomers blended seamlessly into the crowd – their faces lost amidst the tide of customers moving from one end to the other. Sally couldn't help but glance around towards the entrance whenever she was given an opportunity, but even as she and Rowan scoured the shelves and stands, she saw no gleam of metal, heard no clatter of armour. Not even a pair of eyes turned their way as they snuck round a corner with the pretence of searching the shelves where travelling cloaks were kept.  
When at last she was certain that they had not been followed, she turned around just in time to catch the object Rowan had tossed to her.

"Try it on!" he said, smiling.

"Not my size," she responded, replacing frivolous, brightly-coloured cloak with disdain.

"C'mon, Sally, we can't be picky here."

"I'm not being picky," she replied calmly, "I told you, it's not my size. Here," she said, pulling out a mossy-green one and holding it out to him, "matches your eyes."

"I… I'm not wearing that," he said plainly, "I'll look like a Leprechaun."

She snickered, "Maybe in stature, but you do _**not**_ look like someone who has a secret pot of gold."

"Hey! Uncalled for!"

-but they both fought to stifle their mirth, looking around to check nobody had glanced their way, and went on to gather the proper clothing they needed;

Sturdy boots of a water-resistant fabric; Hard-wearing, lightweight tunics woven from canvas, and at last reaching a decision on what cloaks to purchase – Sally choosing one that was maroon in colour, and a cut above her old cloak's quality, whilst Rowan ended up picking one that was almost identical to his old cloak, both in the earth-brown colour and in fabric. She even speculated shrewdly that he had chosen the exact same make.

As they made their ways back into the bustling main room however, the door burst open and a guardsman pushed through the throng of people, eyes set on the store clerk and a roll of parchment in a gloved hand.

Rowan and Sally dared not exchange a look nor a word.

They kept close to the walls, avoiding eye contact with everyone they passed and heading swiftly towards the open exit to the outside. And sure enough, just as they had pushed their ways through and were free to move unhindered, they heard a collective murmur from the people indoors and a booming voice call,

"Stop right there, scum!"

But Rowan and Sally were prepared to do anything but obey.

They slammed the door shut and pelted away together, turning the corner back to the market square as they heard the door crash open and heard the swift, heavy footfalls of their pursuer sprinting after them.

As they saw the market before them, Sally noticed a gap between two buildings and pulled Rowan along into it, hoping to fool the guardsman into thinking they were among the crowd, but their movement was hindered more than she had anticipated, the ground strewn with litter and muck, and it was only when they had reached a turning point into the shadows when they heard splashing sounds directly behind them, heard his voice shout out to his fellows, and heard his footfalls drawing upon them with horrifying speed.  
With waves of icy fear raising through their chests, she and Rowan desperately dropped to the ground and picked up the first thing they could find, he a fist-sized rock and she an empty glass bottle, turning as one to face their foe as the gleam of his armour shone directly into their eyes. His sword pointed at them, his chest heaving, he opened his mouth to speak, and the two of them made forward, their weapons held high, but before any of them could make contact, there was a fleeting glimpse of the guard's shocked expression before he fell flat on his front and was dragged away into the shadows by what looked like ropes wrapped tight around his ankles, his armour cutting through the mud and his hands clawing and scrabbling wildly as he disappeared from view.  
They heard scuffling sounds as the guard struggled for breath, heard his armour rattling violently as though he were being shook from side to side, and then they heard what sounded like whips lashing across him again and again alongside low, grunt-like snarls and, horror-struck, they each retreated a couple of steps before recovering their wits and running away through the alley, their feet slipping and splashing with every step.

Suddenly Sally heard Rowan cry out and twisted around, sliding dangerously in the mud as she came to a halt, and she had no time to register the emptiness all around her when something grabbed her upper-arm and lifted her up, powerfully up, and she could do no more than yell before she was settled down on the roof of the building beside her companion, and the hold on her was relinquished.

Breathless and stunned, she looked round, recognised the figure between them and gasped in a voice hoarse but rich with elation,

"Howl-"

"Quiet!" he said curtly, "Don't make a noise, either of you." –before jumping down into the alleyway again and rushing towards where the whipping sounds were still echoing through the gloom.

"Hey-hey-hey HEY!" he barked, arms shielding him as he stepped between the guard and their attacker, forcing them to cease,

"What did I say to you?!" he commanded, "You knock them out swiftly and silently, stand down right now!"

"Little more..." replied the young Ivysaur, teeth bared and eyes burning, "Just let me-"

"I didn't let you out so you could have your revenge!"

The guard gave a croaking, rattled breath then, his eyes open but drifting in and out of focus. Without a word, Howl flicked his helmet off and shoved his head roughly into the wood of the hut, knocking him unconscious, and turning round just in time to catch the Ivysaur's vines in each paw before they could resume their lashing.

"Keep making noise and you risk _**all**_ of us being caught, and then getting thrown back into a cage will be the best-case scenario for us. You want that on your conscience?"  
The Ivysaur's vines slackened slightly, and he turned his gaze towards the six other Pokémon concealed in the alley, their dark outlines all thin, weak and trembling.

"I-I…" he began to respond, but another voice cut him off,

"Mister!"

It was Pidgey, her little wings fluttering in the silence as she swept over their heads and hovered before Howl, "Come quick," she said, and, understanding, he released his hold on the Ivysaur and turned his gaze briefly towards the Sewaddle beside him.

"String Shot, please," he said, pointing towards the guard. The Sewaddle nodded and proceeded to plaster web after web down onto the human's limp figure, careful with where they took aim as they had already been scolded by Howl for covering a previous guard's nose and their mouth, risking suffocation.

A moment's glance at their work, and Howl followed the Pidgey swiftly past the other Pokémon huddled in the shadows; a Houndour, a Bunnelby, an Axew, and a Pachirisu, and then saw the cause of Pidgey's alarm and dropped to his knees at once, speaking quietly to the Pokémon lain down against the cold ground.

"What's the matter?" he asked, but the Delcatty was too weak to respond. She had to take three rattling breaths before attempting to speak.

"I can't…" she breathed, "I'm so weak… so tired… Eaten in days… I just can't carry on-"

"You _**have**_ to," he growled sternly, pointing towards the large egg tucked close to her chest,

"That egg's going to hatch soon, and the little one inside will need its mother when it does."

"But…" she panted, "their father… their sisters… I can't… not on my own…"

"Enough. Quiet down, save your strength. You're not stopping here and we're not leaving you."

He swung the tattered sack onto the ground and reached inside it.

"Here," he said, holding out a pawful of Oran Berry skins and a fresh red apple, "Eat these. We can't afford to linger, so be quick abou-"  
-but the Ivysaur cut across him.

"You've… You've got food?"

His tone was calmer now, and his expression hopeful. The others had turned their heads to look now as well.

The sack still in his paw, Howl upended it onto the stone tile in the centre of their gathering and stepped back, allowing them room to gather and sate their desperate appetites.

"Keep a lookout," he grunted to Pidgey, and she nodded resolutely.

They heard familiar footfalls, and then Howl was clambering back up beside them on the rooftop, red eyes moving over them both.

"Right," he said, "Well… you two seem fine. You feeling OK? No aches or pains? Any fresh injuries to- _**Whoa."**_

Without any warning, Sally had flung her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly, her forehead pressed into the fur at his shoulder. Rowan too had leaned forward suddenly but seemed hesitant to commit to the movement, and Howl had just enough time to say,

"Don't. Don't, ple-"

-before he too had put an arm around his back and pulled all three of them into a group hug.

"You gotta be kidding me…!"

Howl exclaimed, his expression nothing short of devastated.

" _ **Where were you**_?!" Sally demanded as she and Rowan pulled away from the embrace at last, "The family found us and they took us to town and we thought you – we thought you'd just contact us or try to stop 'em, or-"

"All right-"

"But when we didn't hear from you, I… I wondered if your wounds were-"

"I tried to contact you, but you didn't seem to notice. My telepathy didn't seem to be getting through," he replied in a pacifying tone, and as he'd done so, she had noticed some subtle faults in his body language; the way his tail hung limp on the roof behind him instead of raised and swishing with each passing moment, how his ears were bent a little to either side instead of upright and turning to each speaker in turn, the slight tremor in his legs as though shifting in any direction would cause him to overbalance.

He seemed to have noticed her observations, however, for she had barely begun to ask,

"What about you, though? Are-"

-before he had turned his back to them to peer over into the market square.

"Far too crowded…" he said quietly, "If there was a throng of them leaving all at once-  
…No. No, that still wouldn't be enough."

"We…" Sally began, "We could take a ride out in a wagon, like how we came in?"

But it was Rowan who responded,  
"That won't work. The public wagon drivers always make sure to check their passengers names and faces on this little list they've got. They'll recognise us just as well as the soldiers would."

Howl made a note of what sounded like agreement.

"Those people you came in with," he said, "Are they merchants or do they live here? Is there any chance they'd be willing to let you leave with them?"

"No," she said, "This is their home. And anyway, we… told them we were visiting family. They'd get suspicious."

The Pokémon uttered the briefest, softest growl in his frustration.

"Sorry," she said, before she could stop herself.

"Don't be a fool," he replied gruffly.

Minutes passed, in which the two humans sat in silence, their minds working furiously for any way they could escape while the Pokémon scanned all of the market square and the town walls that were visible to them. Occasionally his Sensors would lift and he would remain still for some time, and twice he would jump down from the rooftop to whisper with his shadowed Pokémon companions, until at last the Pidgey joined them with a chirrup, and began to converse with him.

"I think I know a way out!" she said urgently, I could see from high up! There's this one gateway into the town that doesn't look like anybody's come through all morning! I can't see any wheel marks in the mud, and there's barely anyone there except for the guards at the gate!"  
"How many of them?" Howl said at once.

"Two in the little watchtowers, and two right by the gate."

"Where is this gateway?"

"It…" she hesitated, something even Rowan and Sally understood, before she answered fully: "It's at the northern end of town."

Howl looked in the direction of the morning sun and took in their surroundings even further.

"You're certain it's the northern end?" he growled, "Well… that's a start."

He remained silent for a few moments, his eyes casting about between his companions and his expression strained as he worked his tiring mind.

"Alright," he said at last, addressing the humans, and divulged his plan to them. Sally and Rowan would merge back into the crowd once more and head towards the northern side of town while Howl kept to the shadows along their path until the gate came into view, where they would withdraw from harm so that he could address the problem of the guards around it.

"Any questions?" he concluded.

"Yeah," said Rowan, "What about them?" He gestured to the Pokémon in the alley. Sally had been wondering about them as well.

"They'll be leaving town with us, of course," Howl replied.

"But won't they see us?" she questioned, "Won't they think we're-"

"I'll be keeping them concealed in shadow. I'll try to make sure you're given enough time to put some distance between us, and I'll be in contact with you the whole time."

"No, that's not... we mean, what about afterwards? Are they travelling with us now, or…"

"Honestly, I… I'm still figuring that part out," he confessed.

"What… will you tell them?" she asked, but he shook his head.

"Doesn't matter now," he growled, "We've spent enough time in here. You'd better get a move on before the crowd shrinks too much."

They could argue no further. They moved as commanded, allowing themselves to be lowered carefully by the arm, and he landed beside them with a rather graceless splash of mud.

"Be ready to move," he said turning away from them, "I'll tell you when."

" _ **Howl**_ …"

Sally couldn't help herself. The fear that had so briefly abated was now squirming in her stomach again, and she could sense by his tight-set lips and clenched fists that Rowan was feeling just the same, but Howl cut her off again,

"I know, all right? It's made things complicated, but _**you two**_ are my clients, so it's _**you two**_ who are my primary concern. Even if there's no contract between us, I've still sworn an oath to you, and I intend to honour it. I'd be a disgrace of a Guild Pokémon if I couldn't even do that. So if you're worrying about whether or not I might choose them over you, set those thoughts aside right here. I'll figure out what to do with them once we're out of this mess. Got it?"

She breathed carefully. His words were comfort, though not a total relief to them, and by the time she had looked up to reply, he was already trudging away through the wet mud, further into the cold dark.

"G…" Rowan stammered beside her, "Guild… Pokémon?"

She shook her head, feeling just as clueless as he was, and knew, without really knowing how she knew it, that if he had not been so unwell, their guide would never have let those words slip before them.

They moved on back the way they came, and waited until they heard his voice give them the all-clear before at last slipping into the sunlit crowd, and following the current of movement northwards, whilst Howl himself arranged his concealed Pokémon brethren in a huddle close to him, holding the Delcatty in his arms and letting the three smallest Pokémon clamber onto his back, and waited his chance to dart past watchful eyes, across the near-deserted street.

At that point, the tide of people had indeed begun to relent, but there was no shortage of merchants at their stands and customers for Sally and Rowan to mask themselves beside.

The guards that were dotted here and there among the townsfolk still worried them, despite their certainty now that they were indeed protected, and every minute or so they were sure one had looked in their direction or was heading straight for them, but were always either mistaken or at least able to evade detection by appearing as though they were part of an on-going queue.

It seemed Howl's judgement had been right, and that in the market they were truly invisible.

As they moved on through the clamour, Sally thought she heard what sounded like a bell being rung somewhere out of sight around the other end of a street, with a voice calling above all others with a confident sense of purpose to their tone, and just as she'd begun to wonder whether she had really heard such a thing, they heard a collective murmur behind them; voices filled with exhilaration, and suddenly there were people on both sides running past them and even a few jostled them out the way in their haste to see what was happening.

Sally tried to see their faces, alarmed and a little angry, and then turned to meet Rowan's eye, noticing as she did that while his face mirrored her own surprise, there was a subdued comprehension in it as well.

"What's going on?" she asked. She saw his mouth move, but couldn't make out a word over the tumult. In any case, his furrowed brow had become even more pronounced as he'd spoken, and she had made out by his body language that he thought they ought not to linger to find out. Whether or not it was what he'd said, she found herself agreeing all the same, and together they attempted to move along with the tide until the found themselves being steered to the right, towards quite a different direction from the one they were headed for, and forced their ways through stubbornly, both of them so focused on their direction that it came as a shock when a handful of voices shouted to them, chiding them and urging them to get off the road.

She looked around and saw multiple faces turned their way, some weary and some scathing, and it was the sounds of wagons turning a corner way across from them that was the final piece of the puzzle.

Feeling suddenly flustered, she and Rowan rushed to do as bidden, avoiding the eyes of passers-by and still resolutely pushing onwards.  
"More traders?" she wondered aloud to him.

But it wasn't.

She had nary spoken the words when there was a cry that cut across the crowd, closely followed by a vicious roar and what sounded like a jet of flame bursting through the very air.

The townsfolk murmured excitedly when they heard the sounds, quite unlike her own feelings, and then the crowd's excitement grew even more at the sound of further roars, returning bellows of unknown rage, the two were unable to prevent themselves; their curiosity overpowered their instinct for survival, and they turned to follow the eyes of the townspeople towards those inhuman voices aboard the wagons that were fast approaching.

As the driver of the wagon realised the attention, they saw him tug cruelly on the chains of the Pokémon pulling the vehicle, forcing them to slow down so that he and his companions could bask in the praise of the appreciative crowd around them. As Sally saw him more closely, she realised the man's attire was not that of a trader, or even of some performer. He was a monster-hunter. Those 'inhuman' noises aboard the wagons were not human at all.

"Oh…" she gasped, "Oh no…"

She thought she felt Rowan pull on her sleeve, though she felt no commitment behind the pull. She heard him saying they had to move on, that neither of them wanted to see this, but there was a glazed, surrendered tone to his voice that meant he too couldn't manage to tear himself away.

"Good haul this week, eh, fellas?" said a voice from the crowd as the first wagon rolled straight towards them, drawing ever nearer, and she saw the self-satisfied grin on the driver's face. It made her sick to watch.

She heard a familiar voice inside her head. A familiar commanding growl, and fought to shake herself free of her morbid curiosity. They had to move. They had to. And it was only then, not a mere moment after she had managed to force her gaze towards the northern road when there came another cry; loudest of all, and not from any of the wagons now closing in on the town square to meet with the authorities; their primary customers.

Howl pulled the little Axew back and slapped a paw tightly over her mouth, muffling her cries even as the Charizard whom she had tried to call out to, her own father, heard her voice and began to shake his imprisonment more violently than ever, forcing thin flames out of the bindings over his mouth and struggling to see where she was.  
The Pachirisu and Bunnelby held her little arms tightly, each pleading with her in hushed whispers, but she would not listen, would not be consoled; she seemed not to even hear them.  
Howl strained his ears over the noise of the excited crowd, trying to sense by sound alone if anyone had heard the Axew's cry, if anyone was coming to investigate, and indeed while the voices of the distant townsfolk were still raised in awe and jubilation, there was a definite lull to the voices nearest to them. Perhaps his ears were deceiving him, but sudden, brief silence was not the only thing he could discern.

The monster hunter who had tried to quiet their captive recoiled from the cage as the creature spat a short jet of flame from its bound maw, skimming over the man's head and singeing his hair, and the Pokémon continued to roar with its mighty lungs and thrash with unrelenting fury at the chains and shackles that bound it to the floor of its cage. But the eyes of those nearest were not turned towards this display. Like Sally and Rowan's, they had turned to gaze, horror-struck towards a cry which sounded as though it had come from the very rooftops of the surrounding buildings. Several members of the crowd were craning their necks to try and spot what had caused it, and some of the guards had begun to make their ways uncertainly towards the source, hands held closely to the blades at their hips.

'Howl!' she internally pleaded, her teeth clenched, ignoring Rowan's more insistent tug on her sleeve,

'Get out of there! Hurry!'

Once they were all concealed in an awkward huddle around the end of the roof furthest from the approaching humans, Howl whispered urgently, _**pleadingly**_ to the Axew, but she only responded with further despair,

"Daddy…!" she sobbed, actually scratching at his wrists with nail-like claws to escape his hold, "Let me go, let me go!"

He heard the clatters and scrapes of armoured boots drawing ever closer, and choked back his pity; he had to be ruthless. He covered her mouth with his paw again, pressing his thumb up from underneath her chin to prevent her from talking further and waited, focusing all his senses on the sounds of the approaching enemy.

Something warm trickled against his paw and he felt as though his heart had sunk from his chest upon seeing the little, desperate Pokémon crying her little, desperate eyes out, shaking her head in the limited movement his grasp permitted.

"I'm sorry," he said via telepathy, feeling as though the words were made of white-hot metal, branding themselves upon his brain,

"I just… We can't… We… have to…" he couldn't bring himself to say it. He could not articulate the words within his own mind. As they had done since the beginning days in The Forest, as they had been doing so for so many years now, every intricate part of Howl's being was roaring at the injustice of it all, but still Mist's words resounded within his memory; her tale of how things had gone for the first group she had travelled with, how they had tried to save every Pokémon they could from every human settlement they crossed until that dreadful day when the humans had at last tracked their movements and retaliated with forces the likes of which they had never encountered, and had had no hope of defeating or escaping from.

This situation was the same; it was not just their lives he had to protect, but it was two others he would be putting at risk as well.

He opened his mouth to finish his sentence, aware that the eyes of the Pokémon all around were on him, but then closed it again.

A flame was burning in the pit of his stomach, from whence it had come, he did not know. The flame was growing larger, kindling itself inside him, fuelling some new emotion that was brewing in the back of his mind, as though it had lain dormant for a long time.

Then he remembered.

A Riolu and a Chimchar – himself and Illume – on the evening of the day they had enlisted at the guild, battered and bruised from the entrance exam, each bent to one knee before Guildmaster Wigglytuff as he had adopted his seldom-heard authoritarian tone.

His eyes fell from the Axew's face until his head was forced to follow.

"You, who have overcome our trials..." Wigglytuff had said in a clear, slow, powerful voice, "You, who wish to fight at our sides, as proud Guild Pokémon...

Can you devote yourselves; devote your lives to serving as the claws of the weak and the shell of the innocent?"

The Chimchar had responded straight away, her voice shaken with nerves, but alive with zeal.

But the Riolu had remained silent and confused, even as the eyes in the room had turned towards him.

"Howl," his companion had said, giving him a light nudge on the shoulder.

The Riolu had struggled to form the words, until his companion's reassuring face had cleared the haze in his mind, and he followed her lead.

"I can," he had replied at last, "and I will."

"Are you prepared," the Guildmaster had gone stoically on, "prepared to scale the most treacherous peaks, scour the darkest of labyrinths, and combat the most vicious of Feral if the mission's success needs it to be done?"

This time the two had held each-other's gaze, so that one could continue to support the other,

"For the mission," they said together, "I will walk through fire and water."

"And do you possess the resolve and discipline to always stand by the Guild-Mon's code?

To put honour and glory as trivial, and fight always to make others smile?

To do what you know to be just, whether the land sings your praise or curses your names?

To accept that a Guild-Mon's work is never finished, and to see the fight through without fear or fatigue?"

The Riolu and Chimchar had broken away from one-another's gaze then to meet the speaker's, and together they had responded,

"Yes, Guildmaster."

"Then," Wigglytuff had said, what would become a familiar smile working its way to the corners of his lips, "Miss Illume. Master Howl.

By my title as Guildmaster, I name you recruits.

Welcome to Wigglytuff's Guild."  
-and over the applause that had followed from the older recruits and esteemed members, the Guildmaster's demeanour had shifted in an instant and he had grasped each of their hands, pulled them to their feet and shook their arms up and down wildly, crying,

"We're friends now!

Friends forever!

Welcome to the team, Illume!

Welcome to the team, Howl!"

And as his and Illume's mortified faces had turned towards one-another, Howl remembered seeing Chatot eyeing the display with a pained face before burying his head in his wing.

The memory, though brief across his mind, was as vivid as though he had experienced it mere days ago.

His eyes moved upwards to meet the Axew's again, and something in his expression made her cease her silent cries.

There it was. His mind was made up.

'Sorry, Mist,' he thought, 'but your way doesn't apply here. There aren't any Pokémon settlements nearby to take the blame. Not this time. I'm done sitting around and letting this happen.'

He let the Axew down gently, saying, "Listen to me, little one. I'm going to get him out."

She looked at him with wide eyes, her mouth ajar, as though she were in doubt she had heard him.

"But," he added immediately, "you'll need to stay out of the way, get out of this town first, and then I'll send him after-"

But he broke off. There was a rush some of movement within the crowd below, a murmur of excitement at some struggle that was taking place.

" _ **No**_! Get your mitts offa-!"  
Sally thrashed and writhed against the guard's hold, managing to land an elbow on their jaw, but a weak one at that, and the guard clasped her arms behind her back and began to bound them tightly together, and she was dragged alongside a struggling Rowan away from the wide eyes and murmurs of the townspeople, some of whom had realised who they were and jeered whilst others applauded the guards who had found them.

Over the snarled insults of the guard behind her, she heard another talking in high spirits to someone outside her field of vision, being so forcibly jostled and shoved as she was. But it was only at the words,

"Our thanks, Mr and Mrs Mason."

-that she struggled to stop and craned her neck back to see, unable to believe what her ears had told her.

"Helen?!"

The guard snarled at her once more, but she fought his hold again, trying to turn her body around and meet the eye of the familiar husband and wife, now having their hands shaken by a guard who looked to hold more authority than those around him. Helen did not seem pleased to be receiving the praise, but neither did she seem regretful, and when their eyes did meet at last, her face was not moulded with disgust or contempt, but full of what could only be perceived as disappointment – as though she had believed in them, trusted them, even, and while Mr Mason and the guard discussed the details about their due reward money, she shook her head once, desolately, before being led away by her husband and ignoring Sally's attempts to call her back.

She stopped struggling; stunned; disbelieving; numbed; and then fell to her knees as the guard took advantage of her stillness and kicked the back of her leg hard.

She had no strength left to even cry out. She held no feelings within her; her whole being was struck dumb by the look the motherly woman had given her, that once-so-kind face so unhappy, so wrought with depreciation, as if she were her own mother, as if Sally had been the betrayer and she was the one who was hurt.

Suddenly her emotions came back in full flow, flooding her brain and she writhed and shook and lashed out at her captor over and over, slipping her right arm out of the half-done binding around it just in time to land her blows – and she was free, turning around and pushing the guard away with tired arms suddenly revitalised with a current of wild fury. They staggered backwards and straight into the throng of people along the sides, tumbling to the floor as their feet were entangled among so many others, and another guard saw the commotion and made for her, but Sally ducked under his arms and managed to snatch her fingers around the hilt of the blade at his hip, but it wouldn't come away. She pulled and pulled, but its weight was far greater than she'd anticipated, and then the guard grabbed a fistful of her hair and aimed a sweeping kick at her knees again, pushing her head down with the strike and forcing her onto the ground, helpless, and eyes watering as the wound on her leg burned white-hot with pain.

Then it happened; immediate and merciless.

She hadn't noticed the crowd's chorus of fearful cries, nor the burst of some great sphere of navy-blue energy which had tipped a carriage off-balance, but she heard the great crash as it fell onto its side and the rushing of air as something came soaring like a gigantic arrow into the guard before her and collided with such force that he was sent skidding along the muddy path with his legs splayed in the air, knocked unconscious before he had even realised himself under attack.

Sally and Rowan's guide hurried to her side and sliced her bindings in one swift movement, pulled her upright, growled the order, "Run!" and sped away before she could even begin to respond.

Howl ducked down, lifted the unconscious guard off the ground and flung him high through the air, doomed to fall directly into his companions, and their guide seized the chance and closed in, striking wherever there were gaps to be found in their armour; their jaw, stomach, under the arms and behind the legs his blows travelled and the trained human fighters were given not a second to regain themselves. Then one of them collapsed under the assault, and there he lay, unmoving, and as Howl moved to finish the guard next to him, a harsh voice roared,

" _ **Stop right there, Beast!**_ "

Howl turned his head to see who had spoken just as he heard the voice of his other client yelp in pain from the same place.

What his gaze found made his stomach turn over. A monster hunter had evidently shoved aside the guard who had been binding Rowan and wrapped a muscular forearm around the young human's neck, holding a long dagger straight into his stomach.

"Get down on the ground..." the monster hunter continued, his voice low and his mouth curled in a callous grin, "The posters said these scum were travelling with a dangerous monster... That'd be you, wouldn't it, Beasty? You'll be nice and complacent now, unless you wanna see the brat's guts spilled all over the-"

-but he broke off and gazed straight down. The man had felt something in the earth below, or heard something shift, and Howl did not need to scan the Aura around to understand what it was. He sprang forwards and ran at the man, fangs bared and eyes throwing fire as the ground beneath their feet burst open and Bunnelby bounded up in a shower of rock and soil, his Move sending humans all around him up into the air as well. Howl followed after his still-captive client with Extreme Speed, reaching them in mid-air, smacking the dagger aside, grasping Rowan with his free paw and pushing the assailer down to the earth with his feet, and both Pokémon and the handful of humans all fell one after another to the hard ground.

" _ **Excellent**_!" Howl said, letting go of the human to catch the Bunnelby in the air before him, " _ **Just**_ like that!" -before turning around and flinging him high above the heads of the rest of the crowd, "Now go!" he commanded, "Again! _**Dig**_!" -and the Bunnelby responded with a rattled cry of gusto as he began to spin like a drill in the air before he burrowed into the earth again, somewhere in the heart of the group of onlookers.

The air was rent with noise; the townspeople's screams as they fought past each-other to escape, the Pokémon still held within the wagons struggled and pulled at their bindings behind their large, metal bars, and the soldiers calling for calm and requesting the backup of their fellows as the captives Howl had gathered began to join the fray, keeping, as he had instructed them, out of sight or harm one way or another, a monster hunter would be snagged at the throat by the Ivysaur's vines and dragged away from his fellows, a short burst of Pachirisu's Thunder Wave or Houndour's Flamethrower would rain from the rooftops onto guards before the attackers ducked out of sight, and the Bunnelby would burst forth from under the ground, scattering all in his way before vanishing under it again.

"Rowan!" Howl said desperately over the noise, gripping the human by the shoulders, "You alright? Were you hurt?"

But over his tremulous response, Howl noticed something else; the monster hunter getting dazedly to his feet, struggling to reach merely higher than his knees. The fury which had momentarily abated suddenly surged through him and he let go of his client, strode over to the monster hunter and drove his fist into the man's ribs as he turned round to face them both, and the blow that landed was a cruel one; even over the tumult of noise battling for their attention, Rowan and Howl both clearly heard the sound of bones fracturing beneath the Demon of The Forest's fist.

Howl grabbed the brute by the hair and lifted him a few inches off the ground, growling into his mind,

" _ **Never**_ threaten a Guild-Mon's clients..."

-and in a flash, Howl had let go, pulled back his free arm and struck the fiend again, his fist plunging into their gut with all the strength it possessed, enough for the humans body to hang from it, held aloft at their stricken abdomen before Howl shook him off with disgust. His mind was still too charged and there was far too much going on for him to do anything about it, yet as he hastened to return to Rowan's side, he took notice of the flinch Rowan gave as he approached.

"Can you stand?" he asked, and, not waiting for an answer, he took hold under his arms and helped him up, continuing, " _ **This**_ wasn't part of the plan, as I'm sure you guessed, but the chaos will provide us the perfect cover. Regroup with Sally and get out of town, quickly."

"What?!" Rowan responded, his voice, though breathless, strong with defiance,

"We can't do that! I dunno if we can fight, but we're not just gonna up and leave you! There's gotta be _**something**_ we can-"

-but his sentence was never finished.

The fire had returned to their guide's crimson eyes; the points of his white teeth gleamed beneath his lips.

"You and Sally and Pidgey... the lot of you...!" he snarled, and before Rowan was given time to even think, Howl had grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him close until their noses were practically touching, the human unable to look anywhere other than straight into the blaze of red anger.

"Now you listen to me, human child," his voice thundered, "You are not my comrades in this. Neither of you two nor little miss featherbrain are fighters. _**You are my clients!**_ It's _**my**_ job to protect _**you**_! I don't need or want your help! I want you _**safe**_! And so help me, if I catch you trying to join in the fray, I'll knock you unconscious myself if I have to.

 _ **Do I make myself clear**_?"

Rowan's face went white as chalk, and through his stammering he managed to move his head in a nod.

Howl released his grip, and before he could even begin his command, Rowan had moved to obey, running back to where they had last seen Sally, keeping to the side of the roads, away from what looked like the centre of the conflict.

Even with his mind still flooded with fighting passion, Howl felt a stab of guilt as the moment passed.

'You took that too far,' said a small voice in the back of his brain - the one that sounded most like Mist,

'You didn't have to threaten him.'

'But it worked," the rest of him replied stoutly, 'He wouldn't have agreed otherwise. It was a necessary force.'

Time for guilt was a luxury he didn't have, so pushing the thoughts away, he saw that the guards had managed to evacuate a large portion of the townspeople, and that if their proficiency remained unchecked, his clients would have no cover to use for their escape.

He scanned their formation briefly, located a target in the middle of a throng of people and sprinted back into the fray, readying his Force Palm as he drew near to the armoured foe.

"Sally! Sally!"

Though she heard him call, her mind was too preoccupied, and it was at the very moment he had grasped onto her arm and made to pull that she managed to tug the key off the unconscious monster hunter's belt.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, and slipped out of the hold as she made her determined course through the onslaught of hurrying civilians, straight for the wagon in the middle of the road.

"Sally?" Rowan's voice trailed through the air.

She forced the key into the large padlock and turned it with a loud click – louder than any door's lock she had heard – and ducked through the entrance as the large, thick-orange-hided creature saw her and glared, its blue eyes incandescent with hatred and fire – actual flames – dancing at the corners of its bound maw.

"It's OK," she said, though she could barely hear her own voice over the surrounding chaos, regardless of whether or not this mighty beast of flames could understand her or not.

She put out a hand in what she hoped was a peaceful gesture and stayed low as she edged towards the creature, and a mere split-second before her hand came to its nose, she flattened herself down as it struggled to open its jaws as far as it could and spat flames straight through the open cage door, though they reached no-one.

"C'mon!" she pleaded, scurrying to its side as its bindings slammed its mouth shut again and it began to thrash and twist as hard as it could. She took a breath, closed her eyes and, though it took courage, managed to place a hand on the creature's rough skin and run her palm along it gently; kindly; sympathetically, praying it might understand, hoping against the odds...

The creature fell still. Even it's heaving breaths were suddenly gone without a trace. The only thing she felt was the rapid beating of its pulse – though she thought that it could well be her own she felt.

Sally heard Rowan's voice call her name from somewhere, but her attention was remote. Nothing could distract her now.

She moved her palm along the creature's neck 'til she reached the shackle that bound it to the floor of its cage, then she fumbled briefly with the padlock and the shackle opened with a clatter.

The creature remained immobile as she moved swiftly to unlock the chains around its middle, and as they came loose she was startled as it raised wings out from beneath them, smacking her across the face as it stretched the appendages out. Then came the shackles at its large, flat feet; the one at its tail, which bore a tiny flickering flame like an elongated, lithe torch, which bat the ground hard as it was released.

Then, finally, she undid the shackle around one of its arms, caught a fleeting glimpse of the look in the creature's eyes and realised it in an instant, but was too late – the creature struck out with its freed arm and she crashed into the cage wall, winded, but still upright as the creature twisted round with its unbound body and began to pull with all its might at the one last shackle.

" _ **Sally**_...? Wha... _**what are you doing**_?!"

She looked round and saw Rowan's pale face and familiar thin figure climbing up into the wagon and she started towards him with her battered body, and then each of their gazes turned as their was a splintering sound that tore at their eardrums even amidst the other chaos, and the creature tore the shackle away from the floor and lunged forwards, crashing into the two of them and sending them skidding along the muddy road as it too landed with a rough splash, tore the ropes off its mouth with its claws and bellowed flames high into the heavens.

She heard, from what sounded to her like a voice from across a lake, a loud, commanding call abandoning all pretence of calm and urging the people to flee at once, and she felt a tumult of heavy footfalls thundering past her on all sides, and she tried to lift herself upright, but her limbs felt so lifeless, and her ribcage still throbbed with pain from where the creature had struck her, the entire length of her spine cried out from the bearing of collision with both the cage wall and then the cold hard ground, her legs – injured and otherwise – were numbed beyond coherent measure, her body an entangled web of different pains all blaring over one-another, and the only thing keeping them at bay was the swaying dizziness of her debilitated brain. Sally had never felt her being so thoroughly ravaged, never found the oblivion of unconsciousness to be so welcoming, and were it not for what she thought to be a familiar hand on her shoulder desperately shaking her, trying to yield a response, she would have been unable to relocate any sense of herself. Her senses were still being bombarded, but her brain could register none of it. Her eyes caught movement, and with it she felt adrenaline pulsing through her more and more by the second, slowly bringing her back down to earth. She saw monster hunters and guardsmen alike firing projectiles of wood and metal, and subconsciously she followed their flight and saw them splinter one by one against the fire-breathing Pokémon's wings which it had held before itself like shields and ducked its head behind, and while one or two arrows skimmed across an arm or leg, the rest fell in tatters to the ground.

Now the adrenaline came not in pulses, but danced in her brain like strange, noiseless sparklers in various corners, and she found her weak arms and legs dragging the rest of her away from the beast, eyes locked on its movements and her breath sharp on her parched tongue.

The creature, blue eyes filled with rage, reared its head up on its long neck and spat an endless wave of fire from its maw right back at its attackers, sweeping across from one side of the street to the other and decimating any opposition who were not quick enough to duck.

Sally heard their screams, heard the sounds of destruction, saw the creature cease its attack and hold out its arms, saw its wings begin to beat, and its claws suddenly shine with a rich white light, and then, at the exact same second it'd begun to move, Howl appeared at its side and thrust his paws into its body, and with a great burst of light, the mighty Charizard was sent straight towards an empty building and actually smashed through the wall, demolishing and shattering what sounded like every object and furniture piece to be found in the ground floor.

She exhaled briefly and tried to sit up, uncertain whether she had mistaken the sound of Rowan's voice speaking as Howl ran to their assistance.

"I didn't - I _**swear**_ I didn't-!"

-but whether she had heard it or not, she felt herself and Rowan being pulled roughly to their feet and led with equal roughness away, and held no doubts about the certainty of their guide's words:

"Go! _**Just GO**_!"

-and staggering under the hard push he gave them, they fled as fast as they could, making it all the way round the corner before the pain in Sally's leg claimed her mobility once more, and had to put her arm around Rowan's shoulders to continue their escape.

Howl watched them flee until they had reached the corner when he heard a loud screech not remotely human-sounding and whipped round to see that the tables had turned considerably now the townspeople were out of harm's way. Had the monster hunters and guards' opponents been warriors from the guild or even a mere handful of Howl's students from the Forest and they wouldn't have found it so easy to gain the upper-hand, but whether these Pokémon were true warriors or not, they had been starving and sickly for days or even weeks, and the strength of their Moves alone attested to that with clarity.

The cry of pain had come from the Houndour, whose location had been found and the monster hunters had hurled a lasso around its throat and were pulling it viciously down to the ground, and still on the roof, Howl could see the Pachirisu desperately deflecting more lassos and dodging arrows with its electric shocks, though her movements looked clumsy, and soon enough one was bound to find its mark...  
Howl sprinted to intervene, charging an Aura Sphere as quickly as he could and hurling it at those whose focus was on Pachirisu, and though his shot landed right where he had wanted it to, it was not a powerful enough Sphere to incapacitate the targets, rather they were all staggered, a couple even dropping the weapons in their hands, and in the quarter of a second he had before the haze of Aura dissipated, Howl sped forwards as fast as his legs could carry him and jumped, soaring straight through the haze and kicking hard at a space he knew a human to be. His foot connected with something, and he heard the grunt of pain, the sound of his victim falling, and as he himself felt his own descent, he landed roughly on the muddy ground, dug his claws deep to keep his grip and swung his whole lower-body around in a circle, aiming to sweep the legs of the human he had glimpsed as he'd struck down the first, and they too fell down. By then, the remaining five or so had seen their new opponent and made for him, weapons drawn, and Howl still on the ground had only enough time to roll – away and away from them, the cold muck sticking to and drenching his fur through to his skin, but still he heard them following determinedly after him, and he managed to scramble up into a crouch, ready to meet them with whatever he could, when there was a splattering sound as though a great handful of mud had been thrown at one of the pursuers. But judging by the way they had stumbled and near-fallen face-down, it couldn't have been mere mud. Then returned the sound, and now he saw its source – the Sewaddle using her String Shot on the human's feet bought him just enough time to steady himself and lunge again, striking with a Force Palm to the stomach, and at the exact same moment, a mighty crash had resounded through the street, and all remaining human warriors had either plummeted face-first into the earth or been sent soaring in opposite directions, and not even their cries of pain were heard over the deafening Move.

As he climbed dazedly to his feet, trying to see who had fired it, there was a scuffle from the roof above, a yelp, and then a scream as the little Pachirisu tumbled sideways off the roof and Howl just managed to catch her in his arms, saying, "Alright - I gotcha,"

-and there was a scornful laugh from across the street, almost to the point of arrogance.

"Dragon Rage," said the voice's owner, the Charizard, with his daughter, Axew, held close to his chest, "That's how you do it, kids. None of that messing around with String Shots and Thunder Waves."

Howl wondered how many humans were capable of surviving such a Move as that, and would have liked nothing more than to remind the Charizard of that, but time was running out; he could hear hurried, armoured footsteps in the distance and knew that more combatants were on their way, so, with brief orders to those around him via telepathy, he left the Pachirisu to help Houndour cast off the rope around his neck, ordered Bunnelby and Pidgey to help untangle Ivysaur from the brutal vine-laden net he had been ensnared in and told the Charizard to swiftly search the wagons for any other prisoners who had not been released whilst he retrieved the Delcatty mother from her hiding spot on the roof.

By the time they were readily reunited, they could all hear the human footfalls, and with Howl leading the way, they too fled the scene, Howl following the two trails of Auras of his two human clients.

"You..." Pidgey said to him suddenly as they reached the northern gates and he and Charizard, after quickly dispatching the humans in their little towers, began to pull them open for the others to head through, "You did it... You actually did it. You actually freed 'em all..."  
"Yes, I did," he responded laconically as they followed the others out the town and away from the hurrying feet that pursued them still, "I said I would."

"But you..." she continued, disbelief and awe in every syllable she uttered,  
"Mister... Seriously. _**Who**_ are you? For real?  
Are you _**really**_ a real-life Guild-Pokémon?"

But her question was left unanswered, for the fleeing prisoners had all come to an abrupt, inexplicable halt. Some of them were talking, and their tones held anxiety and some even despaired.

Howl, his focus still on the Auras of his clients pushed his way through to the front of the gathering before opening his eyes at last.

Before them stood a cave, whose surface looked bland and unremarkable, with the surrounding wall of stone being carved into the mountain itself, reaching far too high for their injured party to climb as a group.

But more than anything, it was the feeling the cave gave as he drew closer towards it; a kind of chill along his spine, though not from any cold breeze; a sort of tension, though the air was clear.

Howl knew this feeling. He knew what it meant. Half his life had been spent near-enveloped in it.

And the Auras of his clients had strayed right into it without hesitance, without knowledge, and most importantly: without his protection.

Sally and Rowan, in their haste to flee, had wondered their ways straight into a Mystery Dungeon.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter Twenty:**_

 _ **The Nameless Caverns**_

Their breaths came in heaves which echoed softly against the cold stone walls as the two moved as quickly as they could through the dark, narrow corridor for what felt like minutes until Rowan gasped,  
"There...! I think that's...!"  
-and Sally managed to lift her head high enough to see what he had seen; an opening, a dim light at the end of the tunnel.  
"Is that the way out?" she queried, though she thought it couldn't be; the light was not nearly strong enough to be daylight. They drew closer and closer towards it until at last the walls all around them retreated a good ten feet and their eyes began to adjust to the gleam of the outside world flickering through cracks high upon the walls.  
All around the room there were signs of what looked to have once been a mining crew's work, with pickaxes and large, heavy-looking sacks filled to the brim with rocks bigger than a man's head, and strewn about the room there were large crevasses in the walls, some of which looked deep enough for them to pass straight through.  
They approached cautiously, Sally trudging on her one good leg until they were well towards the opposite end from the way they'd come, when her fatigue finally claimed the muscles in her good leg and she had to slump down next to a rock and lean her back against it – only for the rock to then slide apart from the pickaxe-strikes it had obtained who knew how long ago.  
For the second time that day, she found herself mumbling,  
"Stupid rock...!" -and without the perpetual wisdom of her companion to prevent her this time, she smacked her palm across a piece of it, sending it clattering all the way across the room.  
"I don't think we should stay here," said Rowan, "All those tunnels... It feels like we're really exposed. Plus we can still see the entrance. If one of those guards or hunters comes in after us..."  
She couldn't help but wonder what they were exposed to, exactly, but she saw the sense and let herself be helped to her feet again, and they continued their arduous trek through the cavernous tunnel.  
"We shouldn't go _**too**_ far..." she said once she had managed to recover some air in her lungs, "If Howl can't find us, we'll be-"  
"We're just going straight," he cut across her abruptly, with a note of what she thought was agitation, "We'll be fine 'long as we don't wander off. Anyway, he wouldn't let us get aw-  
...get too far."  
"What... What does that mean?" she asked, curious more at the look on his face than the words he had spoken.  
But at that moment his eyes flashed, alarmed. He had sensed something, and upon focusing her ears, she heard the something too, a few paces ahead of them where the corridor came to a close again.  
"Sounds like... water." she said uncertainly. But for all her uncertainty, she soon found herself to be proven right.  
As they drew into the relatively dim light of the room beyond that of the entrance, their eyes caught the gleam of a tiny stream of water flowing all the way from one end of the room to the other, without any visible source along its trail.  
"Hang on..." said Rowan taking a few cautious steps into the room and scouring to left and right.  
"OK," he said at last, taking her by the arm and guiding her through into the less-constricting air. 

The two of them near collapsed in shock from what came next.

They had barely gone a sole step each over the lip of the corridor's end when there came a crashing sound no further than six inches behind their backs – the clattering of what sounded like a rocky avalanche, and as they whipped around to see what was happening, they each gave their own cries of terror and despair.  
The path behind them was crumbling away, stone after stone falling from the ceiling of the corridor, blocking off both the way they had entered it through and the way they had left. The tunnel in its entirety was caving in, sealed off completely, and it was only upon that realisation that Sally had to pull Rowan's arm back in his attempts to try and remove the border of endless rock. Then, as the clattering subsided, before they even had time to register what had happened with steadied minds, the rocks before their eyes suddenly – in but a small number of blinks – crumbled away even further, now a cluster of pebbles, then they were like grains of sand – a wall of thick, dense powder, and then, finally, a gentle gleam like light being played across a mirror swept over the once-open archway leaving a clear, smooth stone surface perfectly alike to the walls before them without a trace of what it had once been.

The two were struck dumb, helpless, and before they could even begin to comprehend what had transpired right before their very eyes, they heard more sounds from all around them – clattering sounds of pebbles bashing against one-another, and as they whipped round, their numbed brains were struck dumb tenfold when they saw the very same effect occurring on two other corridors in the room. Then an area of unmarked wall straight ahead of them, right between the archways disappearing, was rapidly crumbling away to create a fresh new tunnel which they knew for a fact to have not been there before.  
The two stood still, gazing transfixed and lost for words for entire minutes before, wordlessly, Rowan motioned for her to remain while he took a couple cautious steps forward, and she found her voice again:  
"Rowan!" she hissed, struggling after him against the inertia of her wound, but he reached the other end of the room before she had even reached the little flow of water in the centre, and was enveloped in the veil of gloom before she could draw the breath to call him again.  
"Rowan!" she said loudly, unable to mask her fear any longer, "Rowan, get back here! _**Right now!**_ We can't separate in here-"  
-then came a soft metallic clatter, a flicker, and she saw her friend again, lantern held aloft before him at what looked like a corner only a few paces far into the crevice.  
"It's a dead-end!" he called out to her, his voice rebounding off the walls, his tone also one of half-concealed distress.  
She snapped at him again and beckoned him back once more, and finally he tore himself away, his expression vague, as though his mind and body were in two different places.  
"You _**idiot**_!" she seethed, "What are you thinking?! We can't separate in here – what if it'd closed behind you?!"  
"I-I... I don't..." he replied, no surprise or guilt in his tone, and his expression still a picture of perplexity.  
Sally clutched her hair in her fists, wanting to shake him at the shoulders, yell at him without restraint, waste not a breath informing him of the fool he was, and perhaps she may well have done so had it not been for a distant noise across the room from deep within one of the remaining tunnels, echoing through the near-silence that reigned.  
The sounds were unmistakeably from the throat of a living creature, and certainly not that of a human's. They only needed to listen another moment before they realised just what the noises meant.  
"That's a Feral Pokémon, isn't it?!" said Rowan, the light returning to his eyes and now dancing with panic, "It is! It's gotta be-!"  
"Keep quiet!" she hissed, "We've got to move. If it finds us...!"  
Rowan extinguished the glow he still held in his hand and slipped her arm across his shoulders and together they hastened as fast as they could towards one final crevice that remained unexplored to them, and into the dark they plunged once more just as Sally craned her neck to see the outline of the creature slowly drawing into focus before her view was obscured by the enclosing nature of their path.  
The tunnel was shorter than those they had taken before, and as they hastened through it to where it twisted leftwards, Sally waited with baited breath, straining her ears as she knew her companion to be, wondering if the way behind them was about to close again and seal them off from that which would do them harm.  
Yet not a sound came.  
She clenched her teeth to keep her voice under control and forced herself to move onward even as she heard the creature now drawing to at least the middle of the room. They turned a corner and pressed on into the all-consuming dark, wishing they could make use of Rowan's lantern again, but neither of them daring so much as a whisper to one-another let alone stopping in place to create a glimmer of conspicuous light.  
Then she heard Rowan give what sounded almost like a whimper, and before she was left long to ponder, she noticed what he had straight ahead in the dark.  
A solid wall of stone. Another dead-end.  
Rowan's voice carried gently to her ears, though no words could be distinguished, and despite her attempt to hold him steady with her arm across his shoulders, he shook her off and she heard his palms brushing and patting the barrier before them frantically. She drew to his level and held him close, squeezing his shoulders, trying to calm him without uttering a sound and praying beyond all comprehension that whatever Pokémon was nearby did not have a keen sense of smell.  
Her pleas, however, turned out to have been for the wrong salvation, for the noise that fell next struck a blow at her heart.

The sounds of tumbling rock as the entrance to their tunnel was sealed off at last.

"No."

She heard her friend's voice that of the purest, most disbelieving horror while she herself could barely process what had happened. She heard movement and received a shock to her nerves as she felt Rowan shift past her with such speed and lack of care that she lost her footing and fell to her hands on the ground, her head scraping painfully against the wall upon her descent.  
Rowan's panic-stricken voice resounded from one end of the tunnel to the next as he pummelled and beat at the wall which had appeared, though through what Sally could tell, it made no effect. She heard his voice rise to even further frenzy and struggled to form his name in her breathless throat as she got carefully to her feet again, beginning to feel her own terror rise in her chest.  
Then, just as she was beginning to feel some stability within her limbs and the gears in her brain starting to snap back into motion, there came one final noise from out of sight to send her back into the depths of uncertainty once more. The sound of clattering stones for – she had lost count of how many times now – and her friend's high yelp of surprise, followed by what sounded like the thud of a body falling flat.  
"Rowan?"  
She leaned against the wall and followed after her companion, hearing his breathless voice grunting and gasping erratically, and as she turned the corner, her legs nearly gave way again:  
There Rowan lay amidst a scattering of rock, his brand-new garb mercilessly covered in dust and his battered body shaking from head to toe as he pushed himself away on his back into the centre of the most brightly-lit room yet; for the wall that had sealed shut had come down again, though it had not led them back into the place they had tried to flee from. The little flow of water was nowhere to be found; and there was only one crevice across the room, not counting the large hole high above through which the sun's gentle rays glimmered like golden, translucent blades in the surrounding dark.

" _ **What**_..."

Instinct and bafflement were what moved her against her fatigue, and the sight of Rowan at her feet was all that could convince her to stoop to help him up.  
"But... _**How**_...? W-We were just..."  
-but as she made to grasp his hand in her own, Rowan suddenly whirled round onto all fours and all the fear he had been fighting to keep down overpowered him at last, and he had to clutch his chest and vomit copiously.  
"Oh... Rowan... buddy..."  
She could manage no more. Nothing before had driven the severity of their situation so strongly into her heart than the nauseating sight that fell before her eyes.  
Breathing deep and battling her emotions, she put a hand cautiously on his back, ready to retrieve it at a moment's notice as Rowan coughed and heaved.  
"Can't be real...!" he gasped in a high voice unfamiliar to her ears, "Can't be... It isn't... All a freakin' nightmare...! Has to be...!"  
"Shh, Rowan... Be quiet. Save your energy..."  
"We're gonna die! We're stuck in this - th-this...!"  
" _ **Don't say that**_!" she half scorned, half pleaded, "It's not true! We are _**not**_ gonna die! We just... we're lost and don't know where to go, so we'll stay put. 'Long as we don't keep moving about, Howl will find us, you know he will."  
"Oh, great!" he suddenly snapped, teeth gritted and brow furrowed as low as it could go, "That's a real impro-... A-Agh...!"  
He wretched and clasped a palm over his mouth, eyes bulging until he shut them tight again.  
"What?" she said, "What are you saying? You can't... Are you saying you _**still**_ don't trust him?!"  
Another hair-raising wretch and an aversion of her gaze was the response she received.  
"Rowan! Answer me!"  
"It's not..." he gasped, still looking away, "I didn't... say that..."  
"Don't you even try that. Look at me, will you?!  
Rowan, what's the matter with you? _**Why**_ are you so determined not to-"  
" _ **I'm**_ not the problem!" he said, suddenly flaring up again,  
"Why do _**you**_ trust him?!"  
"I... Are you kidding me?" she said, "After everything that's happened? And didn't you trust him enough to you invite him over for dinner the same day you met-"  
"Stop reminding me of that! If I'd known who he... if he was..."  
" _ **What**_?" she demanded with all the force she could muster, but Rowan suddenly sprang back up to his feet and moved dazedly away until he had to steady himself on the wall some paces away.  
She stood up and followed after him slowly, waiting for him to break the silence or turn to meet her eye.  
"What's the matter, Rowan?" she asked when the latter finally occurred,  
"What's happened all of a sudden? You were warming up to him again this morning, - yes, _**you were**_. I know you were. Don't give me that look. What is it about him now?"  
And when still he gave no answer, she moved soundlessly to his side, shifted his arm out towards her and curled her little finger around his, giving his arm a gentle pull as though it were the cord connected to a doorbell,  
"Come on, Rowan..." she said, the memory dancing swiftly across her mind as she spoke:

The abandoned, run-down house.  
The torrent of rain carried past the boarded-up windows by the blistering winter winds.  
The glowing fire in the hearth.  
The two a mere eight and twelve years old, hands extended out to each-other from beneath their warm blankets over the open book that lay beside them.  
Their little fingers coiling around one-another, cementing the words passed between them before she had passed her arm around the skinny, rag-clad child, wrapping him beneath the sheets over her own shoulders and holding him close to share her warmth.

"No keeping secrets from each-other," she said gently, "You remember that, don't you?"  
He muttered something, and when she asked him to speak up, he answered, still averting her eyes,  
"Of course I do..."  
"You're not gonna break that promise, are you?"  
"No... but I..."  
"What?"  
"You won't believe me. You'll think I'm lyin' or... something..."  
"Shut your pie-hole!" she retorted with a smirk.  
He hesitated a few moments more. Then he met her eye at last, drew a deep inhale and recounted for her what had happened amidst the chaos that had ensued in the once-peaceful town.  
When he was finished, she said at once,  
"Well... that is upsetting, but... I doubt he really meant it. He wouldn't _**really**_ -"  
"You didn't see him," Rowan replied stubbornly, "You didn't see the look on his face when he said it."  
"As opposed to the usual look on his face, you mean?" she replied, forcing her lips into an uncomfortable smile. A look which Rowan seemed to take to heart.  
"So you do think I'm lying!" he snapped.  
"No, Rowan! That's not it... it's just I don't understand... _**Why**_?"  
She became aware suddenly of her fingers lingering close to her throat as she spoke, and couldn't repress the memory of what had happened the previous night, hard as she tried. It had affected her more than she cared to admit.  
Rowan's words broke through her reverie.  
"What do you mean 'why'? I mean... isn't it obvious?"  
She looked at him, plainly bewildered.  
"He doesn't really view us as anything special," he said grimly, "He doesn't really trust us at all. He keeps saying we're his clients and all that, but we're still humans, we're still _**technically**_ his enemy."  
"No."  
"We're deadweight, and he just wants to get back to his forest and-"  
"Stop it."  
She hadn't looked at him or even raised her voice, and yet there had been something in it that had made him break off at once.  
"Don't even pretend to believe those things," she said, her tone surprisingly cold, "He's had chances to leave us, he's given us the choice more than once... He saved our lives, Rowan."  
"But that's about where he draws the line, isn't it, at keeping us alive?! He said it to me himself, he'd knock us out if we tried to help!"  
"But... he wouldn't re..." Yet Sally found herself unable to commit to the final word, and only managed that time to clench her fist upon the folds of her cloak to prevent it going up to her throat again.  
"Even you don't believe that!" said Rowan hotly, "You talk like we should trust him and you don't even know for sure if he'll be willing to hit us if we step out of line!"  
"He's not a danger to us," she said, meeting his glare with one of her own, "He might have been affected cuz of all the stuff that was happening, but if he _**did**_ mean what he told you, I know he'd be doing it to keep us safe. Not because we're 'technically his enemy'."  
"You can't know that. You can't peer into his brain and see how he really feels."  
"I know that much, Rowan. I'm not dumb."  
" _ **How**_ do you know?"  
-and it was all Sally could do to prevent herself from saying 'because of how sincerely he apologised for what happened last night'. So instead, she looked him full in the face and said in one clear breath,  
"I just know."  
-and that sentence she was able to commit to in full.  
There was no need for Rowan to respond. She could see in every line of his features what he thought of her at that moment, yet she stood defiant, staring him down, until his expression was that of what she could only guess as being in the near-hundreds of venomous doubts and fears, and he stalked away, recovering his wits with a little jolt before he unwittingly stepped into one of the tunnels. Then he cast around briefly, threw up his hands in defeat and found himself a patch of wall to fall back upon with a slump, avoiding her gaze the entire time.  
Sally's mind was a myriad of gloom watching the display, and as she shifted her weight uncomfortably, she finally became aware again of the fact that her leg had been struck multiple times during the chaos which had ensued, and now after having waited so long for treatment that had not been administered, the once-tolerable searing across her shin had spread all the way up to the adjoining side of her hip, which was now little more than a dull, unrelenting throb of persistence.  
She unsteadily followed his footsteps and sat down a few feet apart from him, swinging her luggage down beside her and rummaging inside for something to treat it with, and, closing her hands round the first thing she found, she pulled out a little glass jar of some lime-green substance, and it was a minute before she realised just what is was and felt her grip tighten convulsively; remembering the ride in the wagon, the kindly, good-natured family...  
The mother, Mrs. Mason.

Suddenly her hands were trembling too violently to unfasten the top, and she had to battle the desire to smash the jar against the wall behind her.  
She saw the woman's face flash before her eyes again, the caring smile and fretful eyes as they had gone their separate ways.

Then the face filled with despondence, and the one, heartbroken shake of her head.

Sally threw the jar away from her as hard as she could and it soared the length of the room before it bounced on the floor and rolled – away and away until it hit the opposite wall with a resounding clink, but did not break.  
Rowan's head, until that very moment, had remained sunk onto his chest, but at the noise which had transpired, followed by Sally's growl of frustration and thump of her fist against the wall, he finally looked up to see what was ailing her. Another minute passed in silence, Sally feeling as though her anger had, if anything, deepened by the lack of shattering from the object she had thrown with such vehemence.  
Rowan stood and strode across to where the jar lay, picked it up, and brought it back to her, knelt down at her side and motioned for her to let him treat her injury.  
It was Sally's turn to be the one avoiding the other's eye.  
She felt ashamed at her outburst already, though she knew Rowan of all people would understand.  
He spoke to her softly, green eyes only glancing up in case they should meet, but otherwise locked on her wound,  
"You get this stuff from the market?"  
She was almost tempted to smile, for she knew he was perfectly aware of how she had obtained this ointment, and that this was his way of offering her the chance to speak of what was troubling her.  
She shook her head to reply, and said simply,  
"The family."  
"...Oh."  
"The mother... she gave it to me for my leg."  
"That was nice of her. They were nice people, treating all our dings and bumps when they had no idea who we were."  
She scoffed bitterly.  
" _ **When**_ they realised who we were though..."  
She paused briefly to see whether Rowan wanted to speak on the matter, and when he gave no more than a glance up at her before returning to his ministrations, she clenched a handful of her cloak in a fist and vented on before she could think of preventing herself,  
" _ **Why**_?!  
How could she just...  
How could she do that to us?! After acting so worried and being so friendly, how could she just whip round and-"  
"I'll bet they thought they were doing the right thing. Just turning in criminals an' obeying the law."  
"But they... I thought for sure they knew we were alright-"  
"Sally."  
Rowan at last ceased averting her gaze and lifted his head, and his expression, while calm, was full of deep meaning.  
"You know that lady wasn't... her."  
"Of course I know that, Rowan! But she still-"  
"We were all strangers. They were nice people, and she happened to be real motherly when she saw us in pain. It got to you, of course it did. Me too, a little... I think. But you... well,"  
-he made a vague, palm-held-out gesture towards her, and Sally opened her mouth to retort, but the breath caught in her throat before she could do so.  
"...She looked at us like she was all disappointed," she said after a minute, glaring down at nothing, her mind's eye still a perfect reflection of the face Helen had made,  
"Like _**she**_ was the one hurt by _**us**_..."  
"Sally," said Rowan with a touch of asperity in his tone, looking up at her with a stern, furrowed brow,  
"It wasn't _**her**_."  
She shook her head as though trying to throw the thoughts out of it, and proceeded to gasp sharply when Rowan bound the bandage up tightly without so much as a warning.  
"It..." she said in a quiet voice, "It affected you too, Rowan...?"  
"Yeah," he replied, "Sorta. Just a little bit, though. I mean, I wouldn't really know what a proper family like that is like, so... but you... well..."  
He hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words to convey thought, and eventually shrugged blandly and said with the relaxed air of plain-spoken truth,  
"I consider you family enough."  
Finally it was easy to meet his eye again, and she gave him a weak smile and squeezed his wrist as she responded,  
"Yeah... me too."  
He returned her smile with an equally strained look on his ashen-pale face.  
"We're gonna be OK, Rowan," she said, "Don't worry. Our demon guide will be here, invading our thoughts again any moment now."

She had barely finished the word 'now' when they heard a scuffling of rock and the sound of footsteps fast approaching and they scrambled to their feet at once, Rowan stood at her side towards the open space of the room while Sally's opposing arm half-rested on the wall beside her, each human braced to back into it or run or leap out of harm, and there they stood in wait, jaws set, hands clenched until their knuckles shone white, hardly daring to blink as the footsteps thundered towards them.  
A human blundered into their view; an unfamiliar face, a monster hunter judging by his garb. A sword was clasped in his trembling hand and his face was gleaming with sweat. His dilated pupils fell upon them and he grit his teeth and thrust his sword-arm out, pointing it wildly at them, saying in as loud a shout as his breathless, near-hysterical voice could bring forth,  
"You!"  
Sally and Rowan each shifted backwards a little, though they couldn't help but notice neither his tone nor his glare held the light of familiarity at their faces, and the way he jerked his weapon from one to the next portrayed his fear to them plainly, though only one of them in the room was armed.  
"Are you real?! Are you monsters too or are you some kind of trick, or, or-?!"  
He spluttered from word to word with nary a breath between them, and when Sally opened her mouth uncertainly, intending try and calm or reassure him, he jerked his blade towards her as though he expected her to suddenly rush at him.  
"No," she said at once, surprising even herself at the steadiness with which she spoke,  
"No, we're jus-"  
"Don't you come near me!" he snarled over her, looking terrified to have even heard her speak, "You hear?! One step closer and I'll cut you to ribbons! _**Not one**_ _**closer**_!"  
"Wait," she began, her pulse quickening, but before she could finish, their came a high-pitched sound from the tunnel through which the man had come, and his gaze leapt back upon it in an instant and he muttered something she couldn't hear.  
"Don't you start followin' me," he snarled, audibly choking back his fear and breathing erratically,  
"I'm leaving. I'm gettin' outta this nightmare and if you try an' stop me-"  
The high-pitched sound intercepted the rest of his warning and he shuffled backward towards a third tunnel, head and sword alike snatching from them to the direction of the sound and back again before he reached the threshold of the opposite tunnel and abandoned caution, turned, and sprinted away out of sight, hit feet thundering through the echoing chamber with every step.  
The sound drew close to the room in what felt like the mere seconds the confrontation had gone on, and Sally had just enough time to turn her head in fear, retreating back into Rowan's hurried approach, and before either of them could decide what to do, source of the noise absolved itself before their eyes.  
It was small, brown-bodied with a crest of cream-coloured feathers on its chest and small, vigorously fluttering wings.  
The bird Pokémon whom their guide had freed.  
Sally would never have guessed throughout their travels thus far that she would feel such a rush of joy at seeing just _**any**_ familiar face, be it a human's or Pokémon's.  
The little Pidgey recognised them too and give a chirrup of happiness, circling around and around their heads before continuing to chirrup for several seconds. When neither of them gave a reply, it fluttered down to Sally's ear and she felt it clutched in the Pokémon's beak and pulled with surprising strength for something so small.  
"I think," she said through gritted teeth as the creature let go before the sight of her raised hand, "Feathers wants us to follow."  
"What makes you say that?" Rowan asked with a wry smile as the Pokémon chirruped around their heads again and fluttered towards the tunnel she had entered through.  
Sally tensed as she hovered in wait right under the lowered ceiling of the tunnel, wondering if the rocky avalanche was about to come crashing down upon the unfortunate miniature.  
Rowan seemed to think similarly, for he took hold of her arm and moved them both across the room without so much as a pause for her permission, glancing over each of their shoulders and peering over his back as though checking the surroundings for unperceived attackers.  
"We're gonna be fine," Sally whispered between gasps for air, speaking to herself more than anyone else as they drew level with the little Flying Pokémon, who chirped once and darted forth into the tunnel ahead of them,  
"It's... She's... She's gonna take us to Howl. We'll be safe now. We will."  
And indeed, it was only after the tunnel had stretched on, winding to left and right and turning back onto itself that she eventually found herself to be proven right.

At first she had been alarmed and even frightened at the sounds that had issued from their surroundings, with she and Rowan both coming to an abrupt halt in the near-total dark of the corridor to listen, but as their ears had adjusted to it, they realised that what they heard were the sounds of battle. The sounds of Feral Pokémon among human cries and roars as they struck and were countered back, and among them Sally recognised a certain voice not anything like that of a humans; familiar rough grunts which issued forth from a growling throat, and the Pidgey gave a little chirrup and hurried ahead, forcing them to quicken their own pace, and they rounded the final corner of the tunnel to see their guide entangled in battle against not just Feral or monster hunters, but both at the same time.  
Sally could count two Feral in the room and at least three humans, one of whom was being brought to the ground by a viscous Sandslash, the human struggling to keep its dagger-length claws at bay while the other two were alternating seemingly at random between battling Howl and a Feral Nidoqueen, who suddenly lunged at Howl when his gaze was turned and aimed the Move Iron Tail at him which he was unable to avoid in time, and he was sent tumbling away, but managed to recover himself and flip up onto his feet again even as the momentum carried him, as though the mighty bashing of that great tail had been little more than a swift jab to the rib, and rushed back into the fray, leaping towards the Nidoqueen and repaying her strike with a Force Palm to the head, and as she stumbled away, he caught the advancing hunter before he could raise his blade and shoved him into his companion, then Howl closed in and rammed their two skulls together with brute strength, incapacitating them, and the Nidoqueen made to hit him with a stealth attack again, but this time he was ready for it and jumped up high, spun round and threw an Aura Sphere back down at his foe, who was unable to recover from the shock, however weak, which landed right between her eyes, and as the Demon of The Forest landed down, he shuffled backwards on his feet, charging a fresh Sphere as he did so, and hurled the more powerful variant at the Nidoqueen just as she was beginning to open her eyes again.  
The Sandslash's cry rent the air as Howl turned to see them bound in a cruel, spiked lasso, with what looked like venomous little pins stabbed into its shoulders and leg by their human quarry, who had a savage glare on his face as he pulled and pulled at the rope, drawing a dagger from his belt as he did.  
Howl snarled and ran at them, and before they could even react, he was upon them, claws digging into the exposed flesh of their arms as he drew back his fist and knocked the hunter out before he had finished the inhale required to yell.  
The sounds of scuffling came from the direction of the Sandslash and Howl exhaled sharply, leaping upright and readying his fists, turning to meet the source of the sounds with whatever savagery they had left.  
But to the surprise of every observer in the room, it did not launch into attack again, but struggled on wobbly legs to hold itself steady, glaring at the Pokémon stood across from it with a glazed look in its eyes.  
Howl tensed briefly, then decidedly lunged and struck towards the creature's head, but it dodged out the way and fell over clumsily, glancing wildly over its shoulder at its attacker, and scurrying away from them all and into one of the tunnels that awaited it along the walls.

Sally and Rowan watched it go, and Howl relaxed his stance at last, rolling his shoulders stiffly and massaging his knuckles in the opposite paw as he turned to meet the eyes of his clients.

"There you are," he said, as calmly as though this were a mere detour.

The Pidgey chirruped and swept towards him, circling around his head twice as heartily as she had done for Sally and Rowan, who approached cautiously as Howl spoke to the little Pokémon,  
"See? I told you you could do it. Just had to follow the instructions to the letter and it all worked out just fine."  
He turned his gaze upon them, switching back to his telepathy at the moment before Sally had hurled herself around his shoulders again and hugged him as tightly as her tired arms could muster.  
Neither human understood the words he had shouted up towards the ceiling, but they each understood the tone, and sure enough his voice was within their minds once more, confirming their shrewd suspicions.  
"Seriously! Do I look like a hugger to either of you?! I have a spike on my chest, for crying out loud!"  
He placed his paws resolutely at her shoulders at freed himself from her clutches, and try as she might, Sally was unable to prevent a sharp inhale and a noticeable wobble from her unsteady leg as she was moved away.  
"What's the matter?" he asked, almost as soon as it had happened.  
"N-Noth-..."  
She had been about to try and dismiss his concerns, but felt her breath catch, for the merest glance towards his furrowed brow and crimson glare convinced her he had already worked out the truth for himself.  
"Injured," he said, not as a question, but as a statement, "On your leg, I presume?"  
She exhaled through her nose, but said glumly,  
"Yeah..."  
It was no use trying to hide it. If Rowan had been able to see through her ruse, she supposed Howl would be able to too, and those flame-red eyes always made her feel unsettled when their scowl was fixed into her own eyes; as though they were piercing straight through them and watching her every thought pass by.  
"Which leg is it?"  
"It's not a problem," she said, breaking from the gaze and shaking her head, "We treated it already, I promise, there's no need to-Augh!" she cried out, for rather than waiting for her to finish disregarding the concerns, Howl had delivered a rough tap to her shin with his foot, almost as hard as a kick.  
"That one," he said offhandedly,  
"Alright, sit down, let's have a look."  
"No!" she said angrily, and a little louder than she had meant to,  
"I told you it's fine! We treated it!"  
Amidst his reply, she had caught Rowan's voice saying her name in a worried tone as she had spoken so defiantly, but felt her attention drawn from intrigue back to the speaker in front of her before she had time to address it.  
"I heard you, no need to shout. Just want to check how bad this injury is."  
"There's no need to-"  
" _ **I'll**_ decide that for myself, thank you."  
-and such was the finality of his words that she gave in and allowed him to guide her down.  
She saw Rowan out the corner of her eye take a half-aggressive step closer, but hesitated before he could commit to acting on whatever emotion had been flowing through him.  
Howl made to unravel the bandages with his paws, but she stolidly pushed them away and settled to do it on her own, for her feelings towards the Pokémon were not amiable in those passing moments.  
Howl gave a disgruntled groan and she saw his snout twitch as he inquired,  
"What is that smell?"  
"I guess... the medicine?" she ventured, "The- ...We got it in the town."  
He leaned closer and sniffed curiously at the green powder around her wound, which had now begun to stain it with blood and tinge it a dark-brown towards the centre of the dosage.  
"Hmm..." he murmured, continuing to sniff at the ointment until she felt a little uncomfortable,  
"The leaves from a Sitrus berry... some honey, I think... and something else I can't identify. 'Suppose it's harmless if it's being sold as medicine..."  
He tilted his head a little to the side, and the corresponding ear followed suit as he asked,  
"This cut looks pretty old... when did you get it?"  
"U-Uh..."  
This was the question she had been dreading, for if her guess was correct, he would not be pleased by the answer, even less so as more time had passed since its topic had first occurred.  
"At least a... good few hours old..." he continued quietly, and when she failed to meet the glare as he looked up into her face again, she heard the lowest, softest rumble from the depths of his throat. She furrowed her brow and set her lips, prepared to retort whatever criticism he may have in store for them, but his tone was something afar from the anger in his growl.  
"You have water in your flask?"  
She blinked in surprise. "Yeah?"  
"Let me borrow it, please."  
" _ **Borrow**_?" she echoed, utterly perplexed, but handed it to him all the same and once he had unfastened the stopper, another gasp of pain was forced from her as he poured a small stream of its contents over her injury, washing away the medicine they had dressed over it.  
"What are you doing?!" said Rowan at last, beating her to the question, and she couldn't help but feel some reproach at the level of anger in his tone. When Howl gave no reply to either of them, Rowan strode forwards with purpose and had stretched out his arm towards a paw held aloft over Sally's leg, when a sudden white light began to glow from the ends of the Pokémon's fur across his entire forearm, and before their complete reactions had passed at that, the two humans were both gazing in unsuppressed wonder at the effect of Howl's Heal Pulse Move.  
"It..." Sally breathed, and once the light had begun to disperse from her shin, she cursed under her breath at the sight that befell her eyes. Howl's ears twitched at the word, and he smiled wryly, with a little shake of the head as he did.  
"It's... It's _**gone**_!" Rowan cried.  
Sally could hardly believe it herself. Though she still felt some considerable pain in her leg, there was no longer any wound to speak of! The flesh seemed to have regrown over it again, pink and fresh, her fingers felt nearly as cold as ice as she brushed them over it.  
Howl grasped her by the shoulders suddenly and lifted her to her feet again, gaining a surprised yelp from her at how weightless she had seemed in the motion.  
"How's it feel?" he asked her, "Put some weight on it."  
She did as instructed.  
"It... feels fine," she answered, digging in her heel as an experiment.  
"Can you walk on it now?"  
"Yeah... Yeah I think so."  
He nodded and looked past her shoulder.  
"And you?" he asked Rowan, and she couldn't help but perceive a change as he'd spoken; a vague softening of his usual gruff, straight-to-the-point manner of speech.  
"I'm good," was the response of her out-of-sight companion, and again she noticed a subtlety in his voice; an awkward tremor, something akin to reluctance.  
"You look pale," their guide persisted, "You haven't been attacked in here too, have-"  
"I said _**I'm fine**_." Rowan cut across him with a bitter impatience Sally had no difficulty picking up on.  
She craned her neck to her companion, then back to their guide, whose ears had drooped a finite amount that only she could have noticed, close as they were to her, and with a scowl she opened her mouth to interrogate - and perhaps even scold them both when there came a noise across the room.  
With ears held high again, their guide whipped round towards the opposite end of the room while the two humans looked wildly to left and right, unaware of what direction the noise had come from, then the Pokémon growled at them to follow and led the way towards the tunnel closest to them, even as Sally voicelessly began,  
"But... we came through there-"  
But the red eyes flashed her a warning look, and she held her tongue, even as their guide grasped a tight hold on their wrists and pulled them along swiftly in his wake, Pidgey bringing up the rear.

They had turned the familiar corners and headed down the same long passages when there was a faint glow at the farthest end, and the Lucario finally relinquished his hold on them.  
"That was the growl of a Feral coming our way," his voice sounded, "Best to avoid them if you can. There's usually quite a pawful of 'em this kind of place."  
The glow then became a light, which they had to narrow their eyes against until they had exited the tunnel and were enveloped in it fully.  
Sally blinked for a minute or two, saw the room around them, and at last her voice was forced out of her breathless throat.  
" _ **What the**_...? But we... we were just here! This isn't-" and before she could complete her announcement, the mouth of the passageway behind them was suddenly buried beneath an onslaught of stone which for just the one moment she had forgotten about completely and gave a startled yell, recoiling from the crevice as it promptly became one with the surrounding wall.  
"Howl...!" she stammered, hands running through her hair before she could save face and hold them down,  
"Wha...!  
Just where in the world of fever-induced nightmares are we?!"  
But their two Pokémon companions had uttered separate tones of alarm and turned their gazes towards an archway to their left, and after Howl had squinted through the dark that pervaded it, his fangs shone at something - or someone he had seen within it.  
He charged an Aura Sphere between his paws and hurled it through into the infinite dark, and among the rush of air as it exploded upon its mark, they distinctly heard a human cry, and knew it had been either a guard or a hunter.  
Howl growled at them to follow and made course for a tunnel at the other end of the room, and as they started after him as fast as they could, a Move suddenly cracked through the air inches before his snout and hit the adjacent pillar of stone which stood close by.  
"An Electric-Type Move... In a rocky cave like this..." Howl pondered aloud, and then called through the tunnel,  
"Pachirisu! Is that you, kid?!"  
There came a responding voice from the opposite end, punctuated by a snarl and a cry of pain.  
"Come on!" he commanded, and they struggled after him, calling him back desperately as the mouth of the tunnel collapsed in their wake the moment they had followed him into its depths.  
Through the darkness they heard sounds that sent waves of cold down their spines, and by the time they had reached the dimly-lit room that awaited them at the opposite end, silence had fallen again, and all around them was the evidence of what those noises had been: humans and presumably-Feral Pokémon lay unconscious in heaps across the room, fresh cracks and smoking fissures in the walls and along the ground on which they lay.  
Howl's voice came through to them, and they saw its owner on his knees beside a small-ish, limp figure on the cold ground towards the middle of the enclosure.  
"Stay quiet," Howl told them as they began to approach, and held his right paw aloft over the body that lay in front of him, which Sally had only just noticed in the dark to be still breathing hoarsely.  
Howl's forearm shone once again with that mysterious pale light, and glimmering droplets of luminescence floated down like falling snow onto the unseen creature, travelling over it like shining ripples across the surface of a pond until they came to an abrupt halt, and Howl gave a haggard grunt, and by a swift movement they saw him holding his right paw up with his left, struggling to carry out the treatment of his patient, and seconds later with what sounded like no less than a pained growl, the lights began to fall once more until the moment there came a faint sigh from their mark, when the Demon of The Forest gave a rasping breath and collapsed onto a tremulous paw, battling with what little strength he still possessed to keep his breathing under control.  
He heard the approaching feet of his human clients, but they had heeded his words and made not a sound, nor spoke a word to voice the apprehension he saw on their shadowed faces. He managed a weak smile to reassure them, and cursed himself bitterly for ever allowing himself to neglect practising Heal Pulse with Mist. Indeed, he reflected, it was an oversight that would never have been allowed in the guild: in his addled mind he could almost see Chatot flapping his wings straight into his eyes and bellowing with all the breath in his lungs at the knowledge he had been so careless.

A croaked question came from the body on the ground, and in answer, Howl responded in Pokémon tongue:  
"It's me, kid. Lie still a moment. Let your strength come back on its own, don't try to force it."  
"No..." the Pachirisu refused, and tried to climb unsteadily to her feet,  
"We can't wait... we have to-"  
She collapsed flat on her front before she could finish what she'd been struggling to say, but even the two humans had caught wind of the fear in her voice, and Howl said at once,  
"What's happened? Where are the others?"  
"We... we got split up... you said to stay close by... b-but we-"  
"Yes, _**I know**_. That happened. Where are they _**now**_? Why aren't they with you?!"  
"A Feral..." she coughed and gasped, "Me and... that Charizard guy... w-we found the exit... b-but..."  
"You found the way out?!"  
"Y-Yeah, b-but-"  
"Where?! Do you remember the landmarks?! How can we find-"  
"There was a Feral... this... _**huge**_ Pokémon... wouldn't let us leave... tried to... tried to escape, but lost the others... found Ivysaur and Houndour... but then we..."  
Her breathing was too sharp for her to carry on, and her chest was inflating and deflating rapidly to the point she looked as if he might burst from it, and Pidgey twittered at her a plea for calm.  
"Do you know what Pokémon it was?"  
The Young Pachirisu shook her head, unable to lift it off the ground so that her chin scraped roughly back and forth with the movement.  
"What Type was it?"  
The Pachirisu gritted her teeth with her response,  
"I-I... I'm pretty sure it was... a Steel-Type... or a part-Steel-Type, anyway."  
" _ **Ah**_. Good! In that case, a Fire-Type like Charizard had the advantage. He might have even dealt with the problem already."  
"No...!" she beseeched, "We _**ran**_... We had to...! It was so tough...! We couldn't even put a dent in that thing!"  
"A _**dent**_?" Howl repeated, but before he had the chance to question further, the Pokémon had resumed her heaving, rapid breaths until she slumped flat on the ground, passing not another word or response.  
Pidgey gave a high screech of avian terror that spread to the opposing ends of the enclosure and returned to them aloft from the smooth stone walls as she fluttered round in a frenzy above the limp Pachirisu's head.  
Howl reached up with a swift paw and caught her out of the air roughly.  
"Calm down!" he snapped, thrusting her down towards the Electric-Type's face, "She's fine. She just passed out."  
He felt the little one's heartbeat slow down and he decided to let her go.  
With the flutter of her wingbeats rolling around their heads once more, Howl straightened up again, turned to meet his human clients - and then suddenly felt as though a wave of heat had surged through his brain and staggered sideways, managing to just steady himself before he crossed over an unconscious body that lay in his accidental path.  
Sally and Rowan started forwards, but he was ready for them and asked, in as casual a voice as he could muster,  
"Do you have water, either of you?"  
After draining the flask for every last drop of its contents, he felt a renewed strength flow through his legs, and after a brief explanation of the side effects of an amateur Heal Pulse to his companions, he had conceded to allowing Sally and Rowan to carry the Pachirisu between them and continued to lead them through into even deeper shades of dark tunnels. He had begun to allow his Aura to glow and light their way, but before he could complete the action, he heard a clatter from behind and saw that Rowan had lit his lantern, and decided to allow himself this minute relief from further effort as they trekked on in hushed voices through the inky blackness all around, until their path brought them to further rooms of varying sizes and heights, and their guide continued to perplex them with his careful examination of the cavern's mouths before deciding on which to choose.  
Always, he would halt them at every corner, every entrance, every exit, and peer out with supreme caution before signalling them to follow.  
And yet, for all his watchfulness, he was no longer curt or brusque with either of them; on the contrary, throughout all their travels, they had never seen their guide so utterly at ease than in this den of twisting, turning corridors, alternating rooms and constant attack from humans and Feral alike; as though this were his own element, his own home, his own battlefield in which he commanded the changing tide.

Then, quite suddenly, as they trod through the silence of yet another winding tunnel, he stopped dead in his tracks, and with his curt tone suddenly returned in full, he shushed their questions with a snarl.  
"Put out the lantern," he said quietly.  
"But..." Rowan protested, "But how are we supposed to see withou-"  
A noise carried to their ears from what seemed a great distance away. A distant crash, the faintest of pained cries, the sound of rocks breaking into fragments under debilitating impacts.  
And roars too.  
Roars from a non-human throat.  
"Put it out!" Howl said again, with bared fangs.  
Sally heard the metallic clink, and then the flickering flame was extinguished, and her eyes could form no shapes out of the all-consuming shadow.  
"Here, I'll take Pachirisu.." his voice said, and she felt the weight of the Pokémon relinquished from her shoulders as Howl took hold of their burden.  
"Stay close, and keep quiet."


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter Twenty-One:**_

 _ **The Lord of The Labyrinth**_

Minutes passed as they moved among the shadows, all the while the sounds of battle growing louder and louder as the distance between them shrank.  
"Keep up," his voice urged, "Shouldn't be much further now." -and during his command, he tried again and again to tap into his Aura Senses, but with every attempt it was as though the frame of mind needed had hidden itself behind a great wall of fog, and as he fought to break through the mental barrier, his clients' safety as the fuel for this fire, he felt his head swim and was only able to hide his nausea by steadying himself on part of the surrounding wall, glad that none of his companions could see him.

Then the compressive walls withdrew, and as Howl stepped out and looked up to see where they had arrived, his eyes were met with a great shower of light from a gaping hole in an angular ceiling which fell directly into the centre of the largest room they had seen yet, reaching at about eighty meters in length and about fifty-or-so meters in width.

And yet they were not alone in this giant's den.

Perched beneath the burning glow of the heavens like it were their own personal spotlight, there stood a group of roughly five humans, guards clad in their gleaming metal armour and hunters' bodies adorned with weapons, slings, ropes, and their own lightweight, bamboo-crafted armour pieces.  
They were huddled in a compact circle, all of them with weapons in hand and casting wildly about into the dark that surrounded them. At the same time that Howl noticed this, he saw the state the humans were in; bodies glistening with sweat almost as brightly as the blades held before them, the armour on their bodies riddled with dents or cracked completely in the case of the hunters, and how the little of their bare skin he could see was torn, battered, and streaked with red.  
And before he was left long to ponder; the humans had shuffled about in their positioning, and there, at the end directly opposite to that which he and his clients had entered by, there stood a large opening in the wall that blazed strongly with light which could only be of the outside world.

They had made it through to the end of the Mystery Dungeon.  
And yet, if those before them were hesitant to flee...

His mind connected the dots in an instant and he spun round to meet Sally and Rowan as they followed him out of the tunnel,  
"Stop!" he began, thrusting out his paw that was not holding Pachirisu, "Sto-!"  
There came a loud clatter from somewhere that echoed across the bounty of stone, and with it came a single human's terrified scream and the sound of stampeding feet as they turned towards the source of the noise.  
Then, in the instant Howl's gaze had snapped round to see what had occurred, something enormous burst out of the ground behind the humans' turned backs and reared itself up high, its head almost reaching the ceiling, and brought itself crashing down into the heart of their gathering with all the weight it possessed. But it seemed the humans' nerves were already on edge, and the instant the creature had revealed itself, they had scattered wildly in different directions in desperate attempts to evade its surprise-attack. Then the behemoth twisted itself around with lithe might and swung the length of its body round in a colossal sweep, crushing into the hapless humans before they had time to react.

Then, amidst the limp bodies soaring and bounding across the length of the arena, Howl could see one last human abandoning his comrades and making a wild dash for the exit, sprinting with panic-fuelled legs at a speed he had never seen a human reach, and yet the creature's sheer size and power overtook him in an instant and coiled itself in a circle around him, spinning around and around to trap its quarry until it slithered free and delivered a flick of its tail as it left, sending the terrified warrior skidding and bouncing along the earth just like his abandoned allies.

The creature's outline stood clear against the outside light as it reared itself high once again and let out a deafening roar that ravaged their ears even across the great distance it traversed.  
Howl narrowed his eyes towards the towering Feral Steelix and felt his fur begin to dampen with cold sweat, which in turn made the dizziness that had momentarily withdrawn suddenly return in a powerful wave so that it was all he could do to prevent himself from staggering under its force.  
His outstretched paw had not dropped since he had barked the order at his clients, and turning his gaze to meet them, he saw their eyes wide with horror and mouths held shut with hand or forearm.  
But the way behind them had vanished with their entrance of the room. The path for their safe retreat was no longer an option to them now.

'Stay calm...' he told himself, 'This is what you were trained for...'

Howl grit his teeth and clenched his fists, struggling to keep his emotions under control.  
He whispered urgently for his clients to remain noiseless, and waited, rotating his ears their full range, eyes raking the walls to left and right in anticipation.  
Soon. Any moment now...  
Then he heard it; the sound of another patch of wall breaking away to reveal a fresh, new tunnel, towards the middle of the enclosure on the right-hand side.  
But as the sound reached them, so, too, did it reach the Feral Steelix.  
With a growl that thundered the length of the cavern, it began to prowl around in wide, slow sweeps, hunting for the new arrivals who had disrupted the position of the tunnel, the intruders whose presence it knew to be there...

Howl snarled beneath his breath, but felt a surprisingly lax amount of anger at the unfortunate development.  
He felt he had known it somehow.  
From the moment the Feral had drawn into his sights, he had known he would have to engage it directly if any of them were to escape its territory. It was part of the job. It was what he had been trained for. Whether he was fit for the battle or not, it was just what needed to be done. What _**he**_ had to do.  
Without a word, he handed the unconscious Pokémon over to the humans and stepped back slowly.

He flexed his limbs to release the tension that had settled upon them.  
He gave a gentle flick to his aching wrists and ankles.  
Delivered a brief massage to each row of knuckles in turn.  
And drew in a deep, scentless, tasteless breath of cold, damp, cavernous air to relax the frenzied beating of his heart before locking his gaze on the Feral in their path and addressing Sally, Rowan and Pidgey as one:

"No matter what you see. No matter what you hear.  
You _**do**_ \- _**not**_ \- _**interfere**_.  
Whether it's the one to the side, or the one that finally leads out of these caves; the moment you get the chance to escape through one of the tunnels, take it and _**go**_.  
Once you're out of harm, you just sit tight and wait for me."

He thought he had heard the voice of one client - or perhaps it had been all of them combined - speaking out in open refusal to the plan, but at that moment, not a word further could reach him.  
His attention was remote.  
His very mental plane was remote.  
Nothing in the world stirred or made a sound to him other than that Feral Steelix closing the distance between them; a giant among its own giant species.

He shot forwards, kicking up dust in his wake, the rushing air bending his ears back as he readied an Aura Sphere without the slightest concern for how hastily he rushed his vitality into the Move and hurled it forwards at last, halting its preparation only when it had begun to cause him pain.  
It burst in a great veil of navy-blue upon his foe, who stopped dead in its tracks and reared up like a great metal tower, baying in agony just as Howl had made to strike again with a Force Palm.  
His Move had missed, but he had not lost his momentum, and so he sprang forwards still and unsheathed his claws, latching them into the gaps between the Steelix's segmented body and leaping upward, again and again to further heights, claws latching into a fresh space with every bound, coming up closer and closer to the creature's mighty, armoured head...  
And he found his mark not a millisecond too soon. He had sensed the creature relocating him, had caught a fleeting glimpse of its deep-set glare fixed straight into his own before he had brought his arm round in an uppercut motion and struck with a successful Force Palm straight to the Steelix's jaw.  
Again, the gargantuan Pokémon recoiled at the blow and let out a roar that caused dust to fall even from a ceiling that stood so high as the one above their heads.  
His mind as serene as though he were in a dream, Howl was not aware of his own crippling exhaustion as he made to use Extreme Speed before gravity reclaimed him and follow up his strike with another, but it was at the instant before he unleashed the burst of energy and soared closer still that the Feral's anger had burned through its pain, and it saw its attacker and unleashed the Move Roar upon him just as he had made to aim his paws in the required direction.  
The retaliating Move broke through the clear-skies of his mind like the sudden clap and rumble of a storm, and Howl felt himself plummeting at an angle down to the ground and skidding away across its rough surface on his back, feeling the friction burn white-hot through the fur and into his flesh.

The Feral Steelix snarled and fired a follow-up Move of its own: Rock Tomb, and the Move glowed bright in the cavern's perpetual gloom before great, heavy boulders enveloped in the translucent, moss-brown light were thrown towards the grounded Lucario.  
A few, swift-passing seconds. That was all he needed. Just enough for the adrenaline to numb the pain along his body and the burning passion of battle to reignite within him.  
"For them...!" he growled through gritted teeth as he spun round onto his front and propped himself on an elbow, his nauseated mind swimming sickeningly with the faces of the Pokémon awaiting him back at the Forest.  
"For the mission...!"  
He lifted his head as the sounds reached his dazed ears, saw the danger and reacted on instinct alone.  
He pulled himself forwards with claws buried into the ground for leverage, pushed himself high again on tremulous knees and let out Force Palm as the Steelix's Move was inches from finding its mark.  
The boulder shattered into pieces, and Howl struggled to hold himself steady as he saw more falling towards him on either side, some in danger of hitting him, others merely crashed and broke among the emptiness around him.

He saw his opponent finally charging forth and stood firm, waiting.  
It was not prudent for him to be on the offensive in his current condition, much less against a Pokémon as powerful as this one. Yet he was nimble, and a much smaller target, and as a Fighting-Type, he had the advantage over the Steel-Type. He would continue to let it approach from then on and wait for the openings to present themselves...

The Steelix slithered with great loud clatters as its segments scraped against each-other with every turn.  
Howl waited until it was upon him, then leapt backwards as it swung its great, long tail around, and the appendage only just brushed the tips of his toes as it clattered underneath him.  
He gritted his teeth, suddenly unsteady on his feet, for as he had dodged the attack, he had made to charge another Aura Sphere for his foe, but with the effort, the haze of exhaustion had returned to his mind, preventing him from striking as he had done on so many an occasion before.  
He could only land, and a nanosecond view of his opponent bearing down on him with open jaws sent him rolling sidewards to escape.  
At the same moment as the Steelix had collided with the ground, however, its entire body had shone with a ghostly, brown-coloured light before it burrowed beneath the soil and vanished from sight completely.  
Howl was given no time to realise what had happened; he was barely given enough time to rise to his feet once more before the ground directly under him was burst asunder and he felt himself being carried upward at a speed too quick to register.

It was only the distant screams of his human companions that snapped him back to his senses.

With tired arms and legs trembling with all their strength, he realised himself to be clutched between the Feral's great jaws, gazing with his muzzle pointed straight down into its throat.  
The creature's breath billowed against his fur and into his nostrils as it fought to close its metal maw, and he fought back with crazed heartbeats, unable to tear his gaze from the dark pit mere inches away that would serve as his own gruesome end.

Even through the great expansive cavern, the Pidgey's screech rang clear to the two contenders, and though Sally snatched her hand out from behind their hiding place to try and stop her, she sped away through the air and tried to peck at the eyes of the great Feral behemoth, and Howl seized what could be his one and only chance and blasted the Steelix's upper-jaw away with two combined Force Palms.  
He pushed himself away, reaching even higher into the air, and for a glorious, blissful second he was free, but then the Feral's one-eyed glare was fixed upon him, the Steelix twisted its entire lithe body round in a great, contorted motion below, head at the ground and tail held up high.

"A-Ah-!" Howl gasped, but no words were formed.  
The Steelix's tail came crashing upon him and he was crushed between it and the stone wall with force comparable to that of a building falling down.

There was a moment in which their guide simply hung in place upon the wall, seemingly lodged in the fissure that had been crushed into the rock's surface. But then as bits of shattered rubble fell to the earth and reverberated in the echoing stillness, Howl's limp figure was unfastened from its position and fell noiselessly through the cold cavern air until he crashed, voiceless and motionless on the ground before his foe.  
And from that spot, Howl, the Demon-Guardian of The Forest, Sally and Rowan's staunch protector, did not rise up again.

The minds of the two concealed humans were numbed by what they saw. From their hiding place behind large rock structures, they were too stunned to even move.  
It couldn't be...  
It simply couldn't...!  
The Demon of The Forest!  
Their stoic protector who had battled and endured so many...  
How could _**he**_ have fallen?!  
This _**could not**_ be reality!  
And yet, even through the consuming numbness of their shocked disbelief, the sound of the Feral's snarl and the terrified cry of the flying Pokémon still reached their ringing ears.

Of the two of their addled minds, the first's to return was Sally's, and through the icy panic that coursed through her veins, the sound of the Pidgey's continued terrified screech was the only thing that could to force her into action.  
"Rowan!" she called, unable to keep her voice under control, fingers fumbling at the straps of her backpack,  
"We have to help them! We have to use the-"  
"Sally! What can _**we**_ do against-"  
"SOMETHING, ROWAN!" she bellowed, true terror taking hold as she spoke, "We have to do SOMETHING!"  
-and suddenly the Steelix gave an alarmed snarl, and the two humans fell as motionless as statues, each of them convinced it had heard their voices, and certain that it would find them before they could resolve to do anything at all.  
She shut her eyes tight as she heard the monstrosity sliding and skidding around in search, and her hand unconsciously shot out, seeking Rowan's arm, and she felt his hand grasp a tight hold of her own.  
Then the movement stopped, and by the subtler scrapes and scratching-sounds, it seemed that the Steelix was glancing around.

She opened her eyes, but didn't dare make a sound. Then there was a rustle of earth and stone towards the middle of the enclosure, followed almost immediately by the crash of the ground bursting open and an unseen something unmistakeably colliding into the Steelix's head, for the roar that followed was one of pain and fury to make the dust above their heads fall in light showers.  
They shuffled cautiously and peered out from their seclusion.  
Had they been mistaken? Had Howl rose again to continue the fight after all?  
But no.  
The figure they could make out was far smaller, and had not a strand of blue fur on its being.  
"That's the one from...!" Rowan gasped, and before she could question further, another figure had erupted from the ground directly behind the Feral, spinning in dizzying motions too fast for their gaze to penetrate, with what appeared to be blades thrust out before it, drilling straight into the Steelix's metal coat.  
The young Bunnelby and Drilbur dove back into the earth again before they could be countered and the Steelix followed after the latter, plunging its way into the pit after its quarry just as there came the patter of footsteps from what sounded like across the battlefield.  
Then a peculiar sound reverberated through the air, and, unable to hold her curiosity at bay, Sally glanced out from behind their cover and saw Pokémon she could only guess to be extras whom Howl had freed from their imprisonment in the mountain town; and the source of the curious sounds was a somewhat plump, pink-bodied figure leaning over the place where they knew Howl to have fallen.  
Sally craned her neck to get a better view, but found her already-shaken nerves giving an almost violent jerk in her body as the view was obscured by the very Pokémon she herself had freed from the cage, and whom had laid siege to the entire market square mere moments after its release.  
For the first time since they had realised themselves in danger, she found herself sharing Rowan's unwavering desire to flee from the dangers entirely, found herself thinking as her eyes followed the Charizard that while the other Pokémon were present, their guide was undoubtedly safe, whereas they themselves were anything but.  
Before she could consider her actions, however, there came another sound of shuffling stone, and the Feral Steelix erupted from the ground once again, the Drilbur sent tumbling away from the burst-open ground until it came to an unsteady rest against the opposite wall, and before either human had time to work their heads around that, the Bunnelby had followed the attacker themself and struck it from behind with Mud Shot.  
Before she had time to witness its reaction, however she felt Rowan's cold palm suddenly slap over her mouth as he shuffled close towards her, barely making a sound in his movements.  
She followed the direction of his gaze and saw the Pachirisu stirring, rousing itself at the sounds of battle, and even as its dreary, half-lidded eyes swept straight past them they kept as motionless as they could.  
A crash resounded, and the Pachirisu gave a little start and limped hastily out from behind the cover, saw the cause of the commotion and trudged on weakened legs out into the open.

Wrestling herself free and ignoring Rowan's protests, she half-lifted her head out of concealment and peered after the creature as, to her barely-contained alarm, it carried itself forward with Quick Attack and pushed its Bunnelby companion out of the air and swept him out of harm as the Feral Steelix's tail came crashing down in the place where he had been about to land.  
She retreated as the Bunnelby's gaze turned to its saviour, and consequently towards their hiding place, and she heard the Ground-Type speak in an enthusiastic tone that could only be one of gratitude, but before she had time to sneak another glance, the crash of the Feral's rampaging tail burst upon her eardrums from mere feet away.  
She felt Rowan take hold of her arm again, and had not the force to resist as he kept low and hurried her along through the shadows, closer towards the brightly-glowing exit of the cavernous arena.

As she glanced back over her shoulder, she saw several combatants sent soaring as the Steelix's tail swept along the ground, and decimated the cover they had been hiding behind as if it were a sculpture made of sand.

From across the room, in the direction from which the newcomers had arrived, there came another Pokémon's cry, and the human's eyes were turned in time to see the Charizard's daughter, Axew, throw an inferior variant of the Move Dragon Rage after the Steelix as it made to attack the unsteady Pachirisu with Rock Tomb.  
The projectiles of the Move fell with resounding clamour to the ground, one landing directly on the attacker's head as it fell, who turned round, located the source of its disturbance and charged for the young one.

Her father's voice boomed across the arena, and from his own fissure in the wall he emerged and struggled to take to the air, to close in on the Feral as it saw the other Pokémon behind the Axew, converged around the entrance to the room, and began to quicken the pace of its twists and turns.  
Desperately the Charizard launched Fire Blast from the distance, hoping against the odds that the Move would reach the target he could not, and all who had eyes with which to see caught a horrifying glimpse of the gargantuan Feral rearing itself high, glaring down at the little figure cowering below before a sudden rush of blue haze burst upon the Steelix's neck, and before there was even time to acknowledge that, the Charizard's Fire Blast found its mark at last, and the creature was sent crashing and cascading stone and earth along the ground until it smashed into the wall, creating the biggest fissure yet.

His vision a mass of blurred outlines and vague shapes, his head awash in sickly pain, Howl drove his fist into the ground beneath him and pushed himself to his knees.  
The Audino whom had revived him with Heal Pulse put her hands on his shoulders, struggling vainly to prevent him from standing, but he shook her off and managed to stand upright on violently-shaking legs.

"What's going on?!"

A new voice met his ears, and turning towards its source, he found that the entryway to the side had vanished, and what looked like every Pokémon they had freed all standing beside him and Audino, as the latter drew in close to him and resumed her use of Heal Pulse.  
"So... you're all OK..." Howl groaned in a strained voice. As Audino's treatment took further effect, and he felt the blur across his vision begin to relent, and faces amidst the crowd began to resume familiar shapes.  
"You _**fools**_!" said a snarling voice, and Howl felt the ground tremble as the Charizard landed close by, and deduced by a faint whimper accompanying his raised voice that he had retrieved his daughter from further harm.  
"I told you to stay behind!" he seethed, black smoke wafting from the corners of his maw,  
"Now we have to protect you _**and**_ fight! The way's closed off now because you left!"  
"No, it isn't," said Howl, holding himself steady on the wall and managing to match the Charizard's look with his own,  
"A Mystery Dungeon's tunnels never close off entirely... the entrance will reappear soon enough. Not that we need it anyway."  
"And you-!" Charizard snarled, "What d'you think you were doing, running off like that?! _**Stay close**_ , you said, _**don't fall behind**_ , you told us, and then you went and hurried on without us! Did you forget we're wounded and sick?! You call yourself a-"  
"What do you mean?" said Pidgey, cutting across the Charizard and ignoring his scornful reminder of proper manners.  
"Why wouldn't we need the other way out?"  
Howl flashed her a brief, thankful smile, as he had known all too well what he had been doing as he'd rushed ahead of the other Pokémon, and had been twice as grateful for her understanding back then at the time of the act.  
"We're all going the same way," he said, feeling more of his strength return with each passing moment of Audino's treatment, though his entire being was still ablaze with pain. He supposed dimly that some bones had been fractured.  
"Unless," he continued, "somebody really thinks all of us combined can't take one big Feral..."  
There was another scuffling sound in the distance, an alarmed cry from someone in the crowd, and Howl reflexively grasped hold of the Audino and leaped out of harm as the Steelix charged towards their gathering, coming to a halt when its onslaught met no impact and reared its tail up, ready to bring it crashing down on the Houndour, Sewaddle and Espurr, who had only managed to back against the wall and avoid collision thanks to their small size.

Suddenly both the Espurr's body and the Steelix's tail glowed a pale, radiant blue, and Howl recognised it as the little Psychic-Type using Telekinesis to prevent the impact - though her strength failed her, and rather than hold the tail in place, she could only slow its movement, and still it travelled inexorably down like a stone being slowly pushed further down into mud.  
Then directly beneath the tail, within the earth darkened by the its shadow, something suddenly shifted about, and the Drilbur and Bunnelby exploded out together and struck the tail as one, sending it back into the air, and Ivysaur appeared suddenly from behind the Steelix and latched his vines around the tail, preventing it from moving again so that the smaller Pokémon could be shepherded away.  
"How..." Howl asked with narrowed eyes as the Bunnelby and Drilbur hurried the children back to him and Charizard, "How can it move so fast? We've been chipping away at it non-stop, but it seems as if its been getting _**faster**_ as the fight continues..."  
The Drilbur gave a baffled shrug and shake of the head, but the Bunnelby's ears had suddenly sprang upright, eyes alight with a dawning revelation.  
"There was..." he murmured as the Drilbur hurried away to assist Ivysaur in his struggle, "There was a noise it kept making... When we both used Dig and were under the ground... always when it was just outta sight, I kept hearing this... clang-y, scraping sound, as if..."  
Howl felt a rush of exhilaration as his mind located the answer.  
" _ **Rock Polish**_!" he said,  
"The last of its Moves!  
So... whenever they're out of harm's way, they've taken the chance to give themselves a little boost...  
That's... That's actually pretty good.  
Ah, no,"  
-he added at the looks the others all gave him,  
"-not good for us. That's actually pretty problemat-"  
His words were cut across by a frightened yelp from the Drilbur as their opponent sent them fleeing from an onslaught of Rock Tomb boulders being hurled after them, apparently unaware of the little threat a Rock-Type Move presented to them, and immediately after that, the Steelix let its head fall to the ground, inches in front of Ivysaur, setting him up to be blasted away by Roar, and before Howl, Charizard or even Bunnelby could hasten to intervene, the Steelix burrowed itself back into the ground and vanished from sight.

Panic resounded from one end of the cavern to the other: The Pokémon captives all yelled and jostled in opposing directions, casting about wildly for the opponent whom they knew would reappear in a matter of moments, and Howl managed at last to relocate the strength to access his telepathy and ordain the command for all to hear:  
" _ **Stop**_!" he called, and astonishingly even to him, the command was met with absolute compliance,  
"Don't spread out so far!" he continued, "Get back here, get in close!"  
"You want us to huddle up?!" Charizard snarled directly into his ears, "That'll make our entire group one big, easy picking!"  
"Move!" Howl commanded, ignoring the dissent, "Quickly! Before it catches you all alone!"  
"Mister, what are we doing?!" Pidgey whispered, but he replied softly,  
"You get in position too, little miss. This is going to take a little input from all of us in order for it to work."  
He heard her give an exhilarated intake of breath, and as soon as he told her where to remain stationed, she fluttered the few feet required and hovered resolutely in place.

Figures from the shadows hurried to approach, and as each drew into focus, Howl clearly directed them with swiftness of speech quite unattainable through tongue; where to stand, face, what Move to prepare and _**exactly**_ how and when they were to use it.

He held little regard for the fleeting looks they gave him, and it was only as Pachirisu, Sewaddle and Houndour all gave him an identical stare that he realised he had been subconsciously smiling.  
As the fight had escalated with the arrival of more combatants, he had found his thoughts drifting constantly to years passed, and in those brief moments of calm, his memories came back in full flow to his guild days, when missions like this were commonplace; when he had been a proud comrade in an alliance of skilled fighters; when his own talents had been an essential component, and his weaknesses managed by the group's other individuals.  
And how, when under the direction of one stoic leader, their alliance had felt unstoppable when faced with even the mightiest of opposition.  
His smile deepened, and just as he was in danger of losing himself to the memories, a voice awoke within him; a voice he couldn't help associating with his beloved partner.  
'Howl!' the Illume of his memory snapped, 'get a grip! Now isn't the time to get stuck in your head! _**This**_ _**isn't training**_!'

Then the final Pokémon drew towards them, their outline staggering Howl before they had drawn into the light;  
Ivysaur, and slung across his back was the sickly Delcatty, on her back and all four legs still clinging with all their strength to the egg, which looked in danger of almost falling to the ground before Espurr's pale blue glow suddenly enveloped them all, and their weight seemed to lessen as they hurried the final steps into the wide-stretched, vaguely-defined circle they had all formed.  
He wanted to ask after the Delcatty's condition, wanted to commend the Ivysaur for keeping them both safe throughout the onslaught, but instead he gave a curt nod and said,  
"Over there, next to Audino," and adding to the aforementioned Pokémon, "As soon as we've got its attention, you take hold of her and treat her as you did for me, got it?"  
No words were spoken, which was for the better, though in the brief instant that Audino glanced back as Ivysaur had drawn to her side, he saw her eyes flash with determination.  
Then at last, there followed the absence of footsteps and the dominance of total quiet.

Sally felt her ears begin to ring, and glanced towards Rowan, but found him still with his back to the cold stone and eyes unwavering from the direction he had turned them in.  
Still the silence reigned on, and unable to restrain her burning curiosity, she stuck her head out from behind their fresh concealment for only a dangerous moment, just to catch a glimpse of what was happening.  
Within the centre of the cavernous arena, roughly encircled around the patch of sunlight spilling from the opening in the ceiling, she saw all the Pokémon their guide had gathered facing out in opposite directions, and each and every one of them keeping completely still and utterly silent - save for the wingbeats of the airborne Pidgey.

Then, after what might have been an eternity of nerve-ending silence, the ground in-between their formation burst open.  
Yet, despite the alarm and locked attention of several Pokémon, no towering form erupted from the open pit.  
Before there was time to acknowledge that, it happened again towards the exit-side of the cavern, and a third time feet apart from that.  
Then the ground was burst asunder for the fourth time, towards the end opposite the brightly-glowing path to freedom, and out reared the Steelix's entire, lithe body, glowing projectiles of Rock Tomb at the ready, and at the exact same instant it had shown its face, there had resounded the echoing, ear-splitting, crystal-clear command that could only have come from their guide.

" _ **NOW**_!" Howl called, his voice the greatest replica he could make of his Guildmaster's tone, and the gathering of frail, debilitated, frightened captives couldn't have given a more magnificent response.

Exactly as he had commanded, their formation dispersed, and Moves cracked and exploded through the air.  
The star-shaped rays of Pachirisu's Swift, the heavy chunk of Bunnelby's Mud Shot, and the uncontrolled wave of energy that was Axew's Dragon Rage all rushed towards the Feral, stopping it dead in its tracks before it could look to aim its own Move, Howl and Charizard's Aura Spheres and Flamethrower crushing the rocky projectiles to dust before their holder had time to react, and Espurr and Ivysaur rushing into position either side of the Feral before proceeding exactly as instructed; Ivysaur lifting the little Sewaddle high with his vines and allowing her to throw a great, continuous web of the gelatinous String Shot onto their common foe, creasing between its smooth segments and hindering its movements while Espurr held its whole body at bay with her Telekinesis.  
Then Howl and Charizard beckoned behind them, and the Houndour and Drilbur dashed forth, ran up along the two older Pokémon's backs and allowed themselves to be boosted high into the air, their combining Fire Fang and Rapid Spin Moves catching the Steelix squarely in its middle-most segment, sending the towering Feral lurching its head down towards the ground, right in place for the final attackers to make their strike.  
Howl and Charizard sprang forwards side-by-side, Howl overtaking the Fire-Type with use of Extreme Speed, grasping onto the Feral's upper-jaw and pushing with opposing feet and arms to open its mouth, even as the creature struggled and writhed against its considerable restraints.  
But then, as Charizard closed in, the Feral managed to unleash Roar just as the impending strike drew upon it, and Charizard was sent tumbling back across the ground, coming to a halt closer towards the exit than the Steelix had been beforehand.  
Suddenly there came a snapping sound, and he realised with horror that the Feral had begun to shake off the String Shot Sewaddle had so diligently plastered over it, and he tried desperately to land a weary Force Palm in its open maw, but that only seemed to enrage it further, pulling back against the Espurr's restraint and lifting Howl high up towards the ceiling again.  
Then, amidst the thundering of blood through his brain, he heard the voice of the Audino give a desperate, pleading cry, and turning his eyes, he saw the outlined body of Delcatty glowing the same colour as Espurr, and felt himself being lowered back into place as the Delcatty, even in her weakened state forced herself to use Copycat and empower Espurr's restraining hold on their foe.  
Howl saw Charizard across the arena getting awkwardly to his feet, heard Axew - closely followed by all the others - calling out to him words of encouragement, and finally the Fire-Type took to gliding low to the ground with his wings, as fast as he could go, speeding back to reclaim his target, and as the creature attempted to close its mouth, Howl seized the chance to use a Force Palm on its lower-jaw first before forcing its upper-jaw wide again.  
Charizard soared into the air once more, speeding through it as fast as a Rapidash on the earth, drew a blazing left-arm back behind him, and caught the Steelix with a full blast of Fire Punch directly into its gaping maw.

The great, towering titan of a Pokémon was launched away through the air the length of the entire room; flying as if blasted out a canon, bouncing, clattering, and carving a ravine through the dim, grey ground, reaching towards the tunnel which had reappeared at the opposite end, but Howl's eyes were averted at that moment, for he felt gravity begin to pull him back down, and just as he was bracing his exhausted limbs for the impact of the fall, he halted a mere inch above the ground, caught by Espurr before he was immediately dropped again with a thud, winded, but unharmed.

With a grunt of defiance against the high-pitched singing of his body's myriad of pains, he rolled over to all-fours and lifted his head to see what had become of their opposition.

Metres away, almost totally submerged in the shadows save for the gleaming of its body in the reflected light, he could see the Steelix struggling to reach its full height as well.  
Though it would not be fool enough to attack them again. The damage it had sustained was insurmountable, and he could tell by its limp, hindered movements that Sewaddle's String Shot webs still held fast.  
"Everyone..." he said, unable to conceal his fatigue despite his effort.  
He had to breathe deeply for a second and reach higher than his knees before he could issue his final command to them.  
"Positions... quick."  
And he charged the largest Aura Sphere he could muster between his paws to punctuate his words.  
Even if it could tell the battle was over, the Feral Steelix may have needed that knowledge hammered home a little more candidly before it was willing to admit it.  
The Pokémon former-captives gave not a moment's hesitation as they rushed to his side in a large line through the middle of the the arena, most following his lead and readying whatever ranged attacks they had at their disposal, others simply bracing their stance and locking their gaze forward as the Feral surveyed them across the room.

Cold fury; blind hatred and an almost desperate desire to lunge back into chaos could be read upon its features even across the distance between them.  
No-one in the cavern moved or made a sound, save for the Steelix as at last it twisted and shook itself to left and right, trying, in appearance, to remove the webs that hindered it so.  
Though he couldn't see them plainly, Howl felt the eyes of his allies upon him and, as the plainest and most coherent response he could give, he widened the gap between his paws as he charged more of his Aura into the explosive Sphere, clutching it tight and perfectly prepared to throw it with all his strength.

And as he heard the sounds of those beside him following suit, he saw comprehension finally dawn in the rage-filled eyes of their foe.

The Feral Steelix bared its massive teeth at them and its stentorian bellow soared as an almost visible wave across the entire length of the arena towards them, but it was neither a Move nor a sign of aggression; just a vague expression of outrage or an oath of reprisal.  
But at that, it turned round and slipped its way into the tunnel at the opposite end, leading it further inside, and allowing them their escape.

"Is..." came a quiet voice from a Pokémon to Howl's left, "I-Is it over...?"  
"Yup," said the Charizard on his right, "no question. That brute isn't comin' back."  
"We... actually won..." said another voice further to his right side, closely followed by a nervous laugh.  
Then the air was rent with the sounds of joyous cries, victorious howling, and the ranged Moves many had been storing at the ready being thrown up towards the ceiling and illuminating the walls of the cavern in a cascade of colours.  
Howl closed his eyes and felt the corners of his mouth twitch as his memories turned once more to his guild days: and for the most fleeting of instances, he felt himself drawing in a deep breath in preparation to join his baying companions in celebration...  
But he felt his chest ache before he had drawn too deeply, and the sudden pain seemed to rouse him to his senses.

Watching from the shadows, the two humans were forced to retreat behind their cover again as the Pokémon's feet thundered past them towards the exit, spouting cries of joy and some even continuing to hurl Moves into the air as they ran, and then they heard the sound of heavy, bare, padded footfalls come to a sudden halt just before following the rest.  
A moment's pause.  
Then they heard their guide's voice speak in a tone of the deepest exasperation.  
"You... _ **idiots**_ ," he groaned,  
"Why didn't you run? _**What**_ were you thinking...?"  
And before they could contemplate a response, he told them sharply to remain out of sight, as if he had suspected their intentions, and informed them he would direct them when the distance was wide enough for them to follow along behind him and the other Pokémon.  
Then the padded footfalls pattered away across the stone and drifted into the distance, and after what felt like a full ten minutes, they heard his voice give them the all-clear, and with nary a glance back at their surroundings, they ran as fast as they could out of the room and into the open air, each of them more than content to let the memories of the haunting labyrinth be eternally forgotten.

Howl led the freed Pokémon up the large, steep hill that followed, and even he felt himself taxed by the effort it required.  
"C'mon!" said Pidgey, suddenly adopting Howl's stern tone of voice, "Quit panting like that, you bunch'a Slaking!"  
" _ **You**_ can fly!" Howl retorted, "This is easy for you!"  
" _ **Easy**_?!" she twittered in disgust, "You think flying is _**easy**_?!"  
Howl heard a loud groan from behind him and turned to see the Charizard doubled over and sweating greater than any of those around him.  
"Getting too old for this bilge..." he grumbled, and was unfortunate enough for Howl to have heard him.  
"Oh dear..." he drawled, "Don't worry, old Mon, we're almost at the top. When we get there, I could give you a therapeutic massage if you need it..."  
His words seemed to ignite the Charizard's metaphorical fire.

"You? Please. You wouldn't be able to get through all this muscle."  
"Well, I suppose I _**would**_ want to be careful... don't want to damage any og those old bones by mistake..."

Black smoke flared from the Charizard's nose until he expelled it in a huff of irate air and forced his own pace to quicken, stomping up the hill until he drew almost level with his critic, and promptly delivered a sideways smack with a wing his across his muzzle as Howl's expression did not fade.  
Howl heard the Fire-Type grumbling about the current generation of youths, and caught such key words as 'disrespectful' and 'youthful arrogance'.  
But far from irritating him, he felt his wry smile deepen as he hurried to catch up to them.  
He saw the peak of the hill and flashed a glance in the Charizard's direction, and could tell by how he had received one in turn that the Fire-Type was thinking just the same thing.  
"Just you try it," he snarled, causing yet another waft of smoke to billow from his nostrils.  
Even his daughter perched atop his head seemed to have discerned the sudden rivalry and stuck out her tongue at Howl, who crooked an amused ear at her before the Charizard quickened his pace even further.  
Howl had just begun to draw a deep inhale in preparation for giving chase, when there came a sudden outcry from the rear of the travelling Pokémon, followed by a chorus of terrified screams.  
He spun round, paws at the ready, expecting more foes, escaped humans or the Steelix giving chase.  
The eyes of the travelling Pokémon were turned as one towards the Ivysaur who had been so diligently carrying both the Delcatty and egg atop his back, but at a glance Howl discerned that the mother had collapsed onto the grassy earth and had began to roll unsteadily downhill, but already she had been caught. Yet the screams did not cease, and with another glance, Howl saw why, and felt a wave of as horror wash over him.  
The dull pain in his legs suddenly a distant memory, he charged down the hill again and saw a small selection of the others begin to give chase to the egg as well, but they would not reach it in time, and Howl could see its course set directly towards what looked like a sudden dip in the earth, be it the dominance of empty air or yet another downhill slope, his terror seemed elevated to even greater heights as he saw the egg begin to gather momentum as it travelled.  
Howl seized the Houndour around her middle and leaned down, hoping to lessen resistance in the air and quicken their own momentum, but he held the young Fire-Type fast and prepared to thrust her out to grab the egg in his stead.  
As a male, the one thing he must not do is let the egg into direct contact with his body, much more so since its true father had been absent for so long...

With every audible little thud and every bound as it moved, the fear was sent in an electric shock through him again and again, and he knew the Houndour in his grasp shared the feeling, and it was as though everything - time itself - slowed to a crawl and held its breath as the egg neared the lip where the descending slope fell at such a deepening angle that it would be no exaggeration to consider it a mere fall, and the path it offered was strewn from crest to base with jutting rocks, protruding roots and a stubbornly uneven surface.  
Howl sprang forward with what little strength his legs held, carried by them and by sheer momentum as he held the Houndour out before him, falling through the air, knowing they were upon the egg at last, mere inches away.

"Grab it, _**grab it**_!" he pleaded, almost not daring to look.

They pummelled the earth with such force he felt the spike on his chest plunge into the smooth soil, and his ears strained to hear any noises as he angled his head to see past the little one in his grasp.  
"Have you got it?!" he demanded.  
Her response came as tremulous murmur that he couldn't discern as a yes or a no.  
Carefully he released his grip on her hind legs and crawled around to see, and felt relief spread over his numbed being.  
The egg was lodged firmly between her front paws, hovering in the air above the slope that would lead it to positive destruction.  
"I can't..." she gasped, her paws beginning to tremble, "It's too heavy... It's slipping!"  
"Hang on, keep still!" he responded, casting wildly about for something among the grass he could use for indirect leverage. Then his eyes found a tree stump and he sped upon it, tore off a large chunk of the wood and appeared back at Houndour's side, slipping it beneath the egg, perching it on a forearm.  
The moment he felt the weight of the egg, he felt the effect it had on his body:  
The length of his arm began to glow with the translucent blue of his own life energy as the egg reached almost hungrily for it, felt his pulse began to speed, the weakness in his limbs suddenly invigorated with an almost intoxicating flow of primal desire.  
Very much alike to how Houndour struggled to hold the egg in place, he too fought to prevent his reasons not to touch it from slipping away;  
It was so very close; no more than two inches of bark away.  
He _**wanted**_ to place his paw on it; _**wanted**_ to pass on his own vitality, wanted to be the one to guard and protect the life within that he himself had helped to create, wanted to witness the egg hatch before his very eyes...

But it was _**not**_ his own.  
What his urges commanded him to do was little more than the grossest of theft.

He wrestled back the desire and choked down his own emotion with an audible swallow, shut his eyes and lifted the egg upward, trusting the Houndour to hold it steady on either side.  
He heard the little one's exhalation and opened his eyes at last, and found them to be burning, but the danger had passed: the egg was safe. Nestled close into the Houndour's entire underbelly, almost as large as her whole body, with all four of her legs barely managing to reach around it in her attempt at an embrace, her cheeks hissed with the steaming tears of the Fire-Type Pokémon.  
Her body too was aglow with the translucent light, yet the core of the egg still retained the strong pink glow from its mother, and not a mote of the Houndour's energy was drawn into its being.  
Howl remained motionless, his eyes were fastened upon the specs of the jade-green glow that had undoubtedly been that of its father, and clenched his fists with the effort to force his gaze away.

He had barely taken a third step when the familiar voice of the Audino rang out from above, towards the middle of the hill, and Howl caught the accompanying sounds of her Heal Pulse again. Her words sent his ravaged body into the pits of cold fear, and such a deepness was its chill that his knees near buckled, and every individual strand of fur across his being bristled with its passing.  
Somehow, his shattered mind found the strength in his broken being to force him to climb the hill's dust-laden, green-patched tract, and all the while he heard the voices of the other Pokémon joining the Audino's frightened, desperate tone, and as he finally arrived among them, his eyes were met with the limp, sweating, tremulous body of the egg's mother.

"Please...!" the Audino beseeched, holding her arms aloft over the Delcatty's rapidly inflating and deflating body, "You can't... You mustn't say that! Your baby! Think of them!"  
-and as she spoke, the Houndour reached their side at last, assisted by Pidgey, Sewaddle, Drilbur, Pachirisu and most notably Espurr, all of them practically shoving the egg back into its mother's hold.  
"You're all they have left for family!" Charizard put in, "They _**need**_ you!"  
Howl saw the glimmer of the Delcatty's eyes beneath their heavy, drooping lids, and dropped to his knees when they flicked in his direction.  
"You're going to be alright," he said, his paw joining Audino's above her middle and struggling to use his own inferior Heal Pulse.  
"Just focus on your breathing. Deep and slow. Don't let your eyes close."  
Delcatty seemed barely to register his words. Perhaps her nausea was too deep for her to have heard him.

The Pokémon around her drew themselves close, offering similar words of support, of comfort.  
Hands, paws, claws and wings alike were placed gently upon her being. Soothing, urging, pleading, desperate voices accompanying them.

Her mouth moved in the motion of attempting speech, and knowing he would not be able to dissuade her, the Guardian leaned in close until his ear was practically at her lips, and the rest of the Pokémon around them fell silent as stones.  
"Thank you..." the Delcatty breathed, as her words began to drift further and further away,  
"Take... to safety...  
...watch over...  
healthy... a-and...  
...happy..."  
And a single tear fell from her brimming eyes as she managed a last breathless, yet surprisingly steady message as her head was laid back upon the green grass beneath:

"Thank you...  
 _ **Thank**_...  
 _ **you**_..."

Then the egg rolled out from beneath her clutches, coming to rest in Audino's grasp.

" _ **No**_."  
To those around him, the composure he had maintained for so long seemed to have vanished as if snuffed out like a candle.

" _ **Don't you dare**_..."  
The large, charcoal-black paws suddenly clenched upon her shoulders and began shaking her.  
"You're not stopping here! You have to carry on!"  
"Mister!" came Pidgey's terrified voice, but he was oblivious to her.  
"Open your eyes," he said, his tone mounting to a shout as his grip tightened on the Delcatty's shoulders.  
"OPEN YOUR EYES!"  
There came a sudden grab around him and he felt the Charizard pull him firmly away, snapping at him,  
"Enough, you fool! There's nothing you can do, you understand?!  
 _ **She's gone**_.  
There's nothing more we can do..."  
Howl shook his head, refusing to believe his words. Unable to believe them, his mind a torrent of vivid faces from the darkest depths of his memory.  
" _ **No**_...!"

His smaller, blue paw outstretched to save a Mawile as her hand fell from his into the vast expanse of air beneath them;  
The faces of the Pokémon he and Illume had failed to reach in time, within the depths of the Mystery Dungeons.  
Walking along the leaf-strewn path towards the Family Trees, only to find the bereaved kin already huddled together, mourning the elder sister, the father, or the cousin they had lost.  
He and Illume in their own quiet home, unable to sleep, and unable to do more than hold each other close and shiver in silent tears from the events of the previous day.

"Not again..." he choked, feeling his own body fall limp in the Charizard's iron grip.  
"It can't... No...  
Not again..."

Time's passing was a foreign concept to the travellers upon the mountain's surface, both the Pokémon ahead and the two solitary, secluded humans who followed in their footsteps.  
In stark comparison to the day's earlier events, they met no resistance as they moved on from the twisting labyrinth they had fought to escape.  
The weather remained warm and impassive, the skies ahead a piercing blue until they begun to fade into the tint of sapphire, the sun a golden, spherical blaze creeping steadily down to the horizon when the party as a whole stopped to take in their surroundings.

The rising hills had relented since they had crested the first, and the tallest one, and the plain that had followed had been strewn with shallow streams and small clumps of plant-life with trees dotting the mountain, but none large enough for them to take shelter among.  
And more so, none heralding enough of nature's beauty to serve the purpose they sought.  
Then, as it was looking as if they would have to make do with what little they had been offered, they found themselves crossing paths with a vast expanse of verdant green grass, stood tall and proud around a crystalline pond, glimmering in the sky's darkening light, and towards the opposite end of the pond was a majestic view of the mountainous lands beneath them.

Howl chose his moment, and returned to find his human clients and direct them to a ridge atop higher ground; where they were to remain still and silent, so he would be able to keep watch over them without detection.

Sally sat with her back against a rock and idly brushed a hand over her now perfectly healed shin while Rowan sat opposite her, neither of them saying a word.  
It was a testament to the gravity of their situation that Sally was neither brimming with questions, and nor was Rowan fidgeting or anxiously throwing out doubts or paranoia-induced statements.  
Then, finally, Rowan's uncertain voice broke the silence,  
"Do you think... maybe..."  
She lifted her gaze to find his cast to the side, then to the ground, then the opposite side, anywhere but towards the one his words were intended for.  
"maybe the hunters or guards... were the ones who did it?"  
She understood his desire for his face not to be seen. It was a desire she herself shared as her thoughts were dragged against her will back to the horror they had seen upon drawing to the Pokémon.  
"No..." she replied in a frail voice that did not belong to her, "Our... guide... he's taken all sorts of beatings. I don't think a Pokémon could have been..."  
She choked.  
"Not... not so easily. They can heal all sorts of damage in about a minute, right?"  
"But he's been suffering from blood loss," Rowan persisted, "Even they can only take so much."  
"I didn't see any blood, though... Did you see any?"  
"No... Guess you're right..."

Another stretch of silence dominated their respite.  
They guessed on in defeated murmurs as to what the cause had been, and sometimes their words yielded a response, while other times they fell unheeded.  
Neither of them held any true desire to know what had been the cause of the creature's fate, but it was something they felt almost like they _**had**_ to know, as if it were immoral or even cowardice for them to try and shield themselves from the knowledge.

Sally could not escape the image of the look in their guide's crimson glare, could not forget the curt, careworn tones with which he had regarded them.  
In truth, it had frightened her, and worried her now to no end.  
For the first time since that terrifying night in her tavern, when she had first tasted fear for her life, she did not feel safety when their guide was nearby.  
She looked back at Rowan and wondered how much of her feelings held true for him. Whether he was debating the genuine intent of slipping away in the dead of night.  
Just as she found herself to be doing.

The noise of a Move was carried by the wind to their ears, and Sally found herself shuffling towards Rowan's side to see what was happening.

Howl stood by and gazed in silence as the Delcatty floated gently through the air with Espurr's Telekinesis, across the grass which they had together cut back until its blades settled comfortably beneath their feet, towards the mound they had prepared for her.  
The Delcatty came to a soft halt above the empty grove of earth and was lowered with equal tenderness down until she came to rest at the bottom of its depths, no more than a few feet below them.  
Howl looked over the faces of the freed captives, and saw them riddled with grief, and there came a few barely-silenced sobs as the Drilbur and Bunnelby together began to shimmy the earth they had upheaved back into its place until the mound before them was no more.  
As the sobs transcended into unleashed cries from some, the humans watched on in silence from their vantage point high above, whispering to one-another as the event proceeded.  
"Just like any other burial..." Rowan observed, "That... wasn't what I expected."  
She shifted a perplexed glance in his direction.  
"I dunno," he said with a vague motion of his hand, "I just... would have thought there'd be some... _**something**_ abou-  
Wait!  
Is that... What's the... pink one doing now now?"  
She looked back towards the Pokémon.

Howl's eyes followed the Audino as she moved slowly through the corridor of spectators, the sapling she and Ivysaur had sought out together held securely between her cupped hands.  
Howl and Charizard stepped forth from their station, the Charizard clutching his trembling daughter close to his chest, and he and Howl knelt down at either side of the mound and dug out a notch in the very centre.  
With nary a word, they backed away together and Howl's eyes returned to the location of his unseen clients as the Charizard gently bounced the Axew in his arms to comfort her.

"Why are they planting...?" Rowan queried, but Sally had figured the answer out already as the Ivysaur spread a strange, powdery substance of what looked like pollen from the bud on its back, and all the Pokémon together passed in a line, one after the other, a few steps in the humans' direction to scoop pawfuls of water from the now gleaming, golden pond and drop it lightly onto the sapling that stood over the Delcatty's final resting place.  
"I-It's..." Sally began, her voice a tremulous murmur as she felt the understanding settle upon her,  
"It's for the... the buried one. When the body decomposes..."  
Her throat felt suddenly parched, and it was a struggle to force further words out.  
Her understanding was on point however:  
For when the body broke down and became part of the earth, it would be from that very same earth that the young tree sapling they had buried would draw forth its nutrition.  
This way, the Delcatty was guaranteed never to vanish fully beyond their reach. Her body, one day, would be absorbed directly into the sapling they had planted, which would one day mature into a majestic Oran Berry tree.  
Forever, she would live on within its wooden limbs, and bask in the sun along with its leaves.

When at last she had managed to convey the entirety of her explanation to him, she was surprised to see his hand upon the rock begin to tremble, and for him to shift his gaze away from her before she had finished speaking.  
She prodded him with a mutter of his name, then did it again stubbornly, unaware of the Pokémon below all turning slowly to face the amber ball of flame that was the setting sun, and the humans' cries of alarm were lost in the din of the Pokémon's voices rending through the heavens, towards the crescent moon that glistened in the clear, evening sky.  
"W-What the-?!" Rowan yelped, "A-Are they-?!"  
Sally shushed him desperately, but unnecessarily; the Pokémon all gathered together had their attentions held quite remote, all eyes turned skyward as the sun and moon together shone their lights over the land of green fertility, and their mighty cries bellowed out into the heavens as if to reach the celestial beings themselves.  
Rowan's question hung in the air, unanswered, but an answer was unneeded.  
Just as they had understood the significance of the sapling, they found themselves grasping that of the peculiar act they now witnessed below.

Howl closed his eyes amidst the cries and pictured the Delcatty mother's face once more.  
The loving smile she wore that could only come from a mother, and her eyes, tired as they were, filled to the point of flowing with gratitude and hope.

Then he drew in a breath so deep his chest inflated like a Drifloon, before he finally divulged for all around the reason behind the name Illume had given him:

He turned his muzzle skyward, folded his ears as flat as they could go, and let out a great, long mighty howl that brimmed with the emotion of its creator.  
The wild ululation carried over the other contending cries with a strength that made the winds of a hurricane seem like the twittering morning-song of a Pidove.  
Sally and Rowan watched on, each of their views blurred by the welling of tears as Howl and all the other Pokémon let out their mighty calls into the heavens, bidding the departing Delcatty her final, and the most beloved farewell she could ever have wished for as her spirit passed on from this world, and into whatever the fates held in store for them.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter Twenty-Two:  
Reflection and confession**_

The clear skies of the evening had withdrawn, allowing their stations to be invaded by heavy, dark clouds that loomed above without offering rain.  
The dark of night was absolute; yielding neither moon nor stars; a vast sheet of velvet black only kept from the grounds by the beginnings of the flames that the escapees had begun to brew.

Howl was among the few who were nearly submerged in the surrounding dark, for most had decided among their large numbers that a single campfire was quite enough; he however had stooped low amidst the sprawling complex of thigh-high grass and was lading his arms with twigs, leaves, and even fallen branches that needed to be broken down to size. But he was grateful for the small tension it gave against his tired arms. His insides had moved from fathomless agony to a ceaseless boiling, and since the noon had given way to dusk, all emotion seemed to have abandoned him, leaving him with a hollow pit somewhere between his core and his chest.  
The simplicity of action - of gathering firewood, and the small but not insignificant battle of breaking apart the trees' wooden limbs felt as though it kept him from losing any sense of self, as though the strain on his forearms, the tension and the release were proof that he was still there, his body strong enough to carry out the task and spirits not so low that he did not feel a small flicker of pleasure as he thwarted each branch before moving on to the next.  
Finally he stopped, realising he had gathered far, far more than was needed and, taking as much as he could carry, began to make his return.

He heard the gentle murmur of water and steered clear of the pond, taking his time to carefully place each foot in turn among the perpetual dark, and as he did so, he heard silent Pokémon voices and turned his head towards them.  
Across the pond's silent waters, he saw a small flicker of flame - a branch from the campfire burning almost exactly like a torch, clasped tightly in what he recognised as the Houndour's jaws. Beside her he could see the vague outline of Ivysaur, the protruding tail of Pachirisu, and it was only the sound of a half-stifled sniff that made him notice the Audino's presence as well.  
He couldn't determine whose voice he had heard, or whose he could hear now, but it made no difference in the end. There was no question to whom they were speaking to.  
He himself had been unable to keep his gaze from turning towards the Delcatty's resting place at every occasion he had passed it by.

"What's all that for?" asked Charizard as he quietly threaded his course through the sleepers gathered around the fire.  
"Setting up another camp," Howl responded without slowing in his movements or returning the Fire-Type's gaze.  
"I figured that," Charizard opined, "But why are you setting up another one? Surely you aren't of the mind to sleep away from the rest of us?"  
Howl remained silent, and passed along the last of the sleeping figures when Charizard dictated firmly,  
"You can't hold the blame all to yourself, Lucario."  
The Lucario in question felt his pace slacken in spite of himself until he found himself at a standstill.  
The Fire-Type continued,  
"You know, as you get older, you get much better at reading the signals from different folks... and being your elder, I feel compelled to impart a bit of elderly wisdom on you, young one.  
You cannot - you _**must not**_ hold yourself responsible for her death.  
What would be the point, I ask you?  
What would that _**gain**_? who would it _**help**_?  
The only ones responsible would be the vile creatures who held her captive for so long."  
Howl's shadowed outline gave all the signs of preparing to walk on, so the Charizard added glibly,  
"Miss Trill tells me that you claim to be a Guild Pokémon... and I daresay I believe you. But I'm afraid, Guild-Mon, that that worries me more than it reassures."  
Howl turned, slowly, his expression inscrutable.  
"I know Guild Pokémon," he continued, confident now that he had his quarry's attention, "I know what your training entails. I've even been fortunate enough to fight at your sides more than once in my time. Your prowess at fulfilling your missions and your combat abilities are without peers, but it is the mindset with which you are _**taught**_ to approach these tasks that concerns me.  
Do correct me if I'm mistaken...  
But I understand you are made to place your client - or clients - above absolutely all else; your own safety, and even your own... internal health, to an extent."  
"Wh..." Howl breathed, feeling the beginnings of anger flare in his chest, "What are you-!"  
"Your guildmaster's teach you to follow a code that has not been altered since its beginning days, centuries ago.  
You are given unreasonable, and even _**unrealistic**_ expectations to the point of... forgive me... to the point of near-insanity!"  
Howl's fur bristled angrily from the tips of his ears to his tail, but still the Fire-Type plunged recklessly on,  
"I mention this now, boy, for your sake as much as ours. What I say may go against everything you've been taught to feel, but... you must be able to forgive yourself. There was _**nothing**_ more that _**any**_ of us could have done. You must know that. You have to, because... well... at risk of sounding old... my own father taught me the most valuable lesson I could know before he passed on. A lesson that Guild Pokémon seem almost unable to appreciate."

He paused briefly, waiting to see if Howl wanted to voice anything at that point. When he remained silent still, the Charizard divulged softly;

"'When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside can do us no harm'."  
He smiled then, almost wistfully.  
"The greatest gift the old coot could have ever given me, that..."

Then, at long last, Howl broke his own silence.

" _ **Trill**_...?" he asked, nonplussed.  
"Yes," the Charizard answered, "Trill."  
"Who...?"  
"The _**Pidgey**_ , you fool! The Pidgey!  
You never bothered to ask her name?!"  
Howl shook his head,  
"I... No... I saw her as a client. One doesn't ask a client their name un-"  
"-Unless they ask you for yours, or unless they ask you to call them by name, correct?" Charizard cut across him, "Well, I'm sorry to report this, but your bosses aren't here to scold you any longer,"  
Howl felt his ears and tail droop without his consent. It was as though the words had been pressed into his brain like a hoof into mud.  
"so," the Charizard continued, not noticing this, "you should at least behave more like a normal 'Mon, and respond with normal 'Mon courtesy... such as asking another's name before an entire day has pa-  
HEY! Don't you walk away from me while I'm talking at you!  
This is the part where you ask me for _**my**_ name-"  
But as he raised his voice further as Howl strode on, his daughter gave a little moan of discontent and began to stir in his arms, forcing him to fall silent and comfort her gently back to sleep.

Howl strode up the incline towards the ridge where his hidden companions awaited, feeling his exhaustion finally beginning to tell as he forced his weak, beaten legs to make the climb.  
But as he crested the slope, managing to just keep his breathing steady, he realised something even through the perpetual gloom.  
He had sensed it rather than seen it; the subtle awareness of one's own solitude had remained even as he had drawn into what would be their limited sight.  
He heard neither voices nor the steady breaths of one who is asleep. He caught no traces of their scents before him.  
It seemed his words had upset, maybe even frightened them more than he'd been willing to believe.  
The expressions that had flitted across their faces as he had stormed away swam across his memory heavily, sickeningly; like wreckage from some gathering or village that was thrown into a river, their individual bodies bobbing, turning and heaving across the once glistening trail, leaving all who witnessed their passing feeling nauseous; unable to bring themselves to look closer, but unable to tear themselves away.

The flutter of tiny wings broke through his reverie, and he rose his head to meet the greetings of the Pidgey.  
"There you are," she said, and he enveloped his forearm in Aura to see her more clearly. Her avian features showed signs of concern.  
"Where are the monsters?" she asked.  
"I was just wondering that myself," he answered, and he closed his eyes to enable his Aura Senses as she perched atop his head.  
He found the two trails to be large and opaque in their colours, so the humans had not been gone for long. Yet as he followed them down the trail towards the very foot of the little hill, he was surprised to see they had gone on in separate directions.  
Recovering from this swiftly, he took heed of the fact that Sally's trail was the heaviest, so she could not have travelled far, and requested that Pidgey go to locate her and simply remain at her side so as to ensure she remained unseen and unharmed.  
He had been intending to speak with Rowan since they had been reunited in the Mystery Dungeon, and now was perhaps his best chance.  
Pidgey followed the direction he indicated for her, and made his own way on into further darkness.

The trail of sky-blue did not lead him far; a mere five minute's walk at most until he reached some change in the surrounding meadow. A slight incline which he thought at first to be a valley.  
After making his way carefully downhill until the sound of running waters reached his ears, he felt light flicker against his closed lids and opened them at last.  
There, seated at the riverbank beside his lantern, he found his human client, submerged entirely in a gloom-filled world of his own.

Howl breathed deeply for a spell before closing the gap between them.

Rowan continued to lift pebbles from the ground and throw them lazily into the flow of water, the splashes only occasionally rising above the din of the current.  
Howl leaned idly against the nearby tree, waiting to see if he would be noticed.  
When Rowan's attention did not shift whatsoever, Howl had to close his eyes and consider how best to announce himself.  
The only times he had felt this kind of awkwardness had been when Mist was upset with him for something, and knew no matter what he said, she was bound to make at least a handful of cutting remarks before the discussion was over.  
Finally he adopted the manner he would have done for her, exhaled the breath he'd been holding, and said gently,  
"Rowan."  
The human gasped through clenched teeth and leapt to his feet to meet the speaker.  
"Y-!  
How long have you been standing there?!" he asked, his expression wild.  
"Just got here now."  
"You-... I-I didn't hear you coming!"  
"You weren't paying attention."  
"You... You snuck up on..."  
"No. I announced my presence. Sit down, Rowan, calm yourself. I just want to talk."  
Rowan looked ill at ease.  
"I'll come back to the camp in a minute, yeah? We can talk then."  
"No..." Howl said, keeping as much danger from his voice as he possibly could, "Here is just fine. I want to talk to _**you**_."  
"I... Well...  
I don't feel much like talking. Can you just... gimme a minute, please?"  
"You've had your minute. Plenty extra, as a matter of fact. I just want information, and then I'll leave you in peace if you want."  
Rowan's lips thinned, his fingers twitched and clenched before unclenching and he glanced all around him, but made no comment.  
"It's not just because of what I said in the town," Howl continued, "or because of what... just happened. No, there's some other reason that seems to have started from the moment you learned who I really was.  
You doubt me, Rowan. You don't trust me. You manage to avoid my eye more often than not. I'd thought we had gotten on pretty well when we first met, but now... it's like we're strangers again.  
Why is that, Rowan? What have I done to earn your contempt?"  
"You..." Rowan began uncertainly, glancing from his feet to his eyes and back.  
Then he shook his head,  
"No, I can't. You won't - just no, no way."  
He turned and began to walk, swiftly, but Howl closed off his escape with lightning movement and rested a palm firmly on his chest - not pushing, but not yielding him another step.  
"I won't what, Rowan?" he asked calmly, as if there'd been no interruption, and when the human tried to dislodge his paw and continue to force his way past, he simply stepped forwards - in direct opposition to the human's efforts and moved him back until he was returned to the exact same spot he had occupied before; he and the Pokémon stood on opposite ends of the quiet, flickering lantern on the ground between them.  
"If there's something I've done wrong, I'd like you to tell me.  
Rowan staggered awkwardly into place, and from there he shuffled from foot to foot, but seemed equally uncomfortable on each. His eyes darted in all directions and his brow rose and fell and slanted so rapidly it was as though the Pokémon could actually see every thought that raced through his mind as it came and went.  
"You're not gonna react nicely... I can't tell you."  
"I gave up my right to be offended when I asked you to tell me the truth. I promise you're in no danger, Rowan. Just try me."  
Rowan continued to shuffle quietly, and Howl exhaled quietly. Rowan made no contradictions, but he could see in the green eyes that the human didn't believe his words.  
Then the Pokémon was surprised.  
The human had shut his eyes tight, his whole being intense, then they had opened again and a new glow had filled their forest-green shade, one which Howl had simply not foreseen in the light, carefree and jocular demeanour that he associated with Rowan Jovani.  
"Fine," he replied, an edge to his tone that only furthered the Pokémon's surprise, "I'll try you."  
Howl recovered himself, and met the human's gaze calmly, and finally pinpointed just what the new light he had seen was.  
A spark - no... a _**fire**_. A blaze of reckless determination with little to no concern for their owner's safety.  
"You're the Demon of The Forest, and everyone in Rota Village knows to stay away from you. I asked 'em what all the fuss was about, and I was given bucket-loads of some pretty tall tales... Some of 'em I know now weren't true. I know you can't breathe fire and I know you can't turn people to stone just by lookin' at 'em, but... some of them I'm still not sure of, given everything we've seen you and other Pokémon do.  
But that's not the issue. It's not about me...  
It's about Sally."  
He paused then, and glanced quickly up and back again before continuing:  
"You've confessed you are the Demon they talk about, and Sally says you saved her life that night from the villagers... but...  
Why were you even there? What were you doing?  
Why did the Demon of The Forest come back to a practically empty, isolated building in the middle of the night?"  
Howl's tail moved slowly from side to side, and his ears perked up at the words as he realised their meaning.  
"You thought I had intentions on Sally's life," he said pensively, nodding to himself, "Not an unreasonable conclusion. If I were any of the things the villagers say I am, that isolated tavern would be an easy target... But surely you don't still believe that, after all that's happened?"  
Rowan shifted uncomfortably, and his mouth half-opened in response.  
"Why didn't you just ask me? I would have told you the truth. Or why not get Sally to ask, if you were uncomfortable-"  
But Rowan returned his gaze again, the fire still burning strongly, and blurted out,  
"I dunno - just tell me now!  
Tell me why you came back... and you look me in the eye when you answer."  
Howl couldn't help but smile, and it was no mocking smile; he found himself taken with the more forceful, adamant manner Rowan used to address him by, certainly more than that of the past couple days.  
He chose to ignore the little twitch that the human's bottom-left eyelid gave as his demand was met, however, and proceeded to explain about Ebony, the rebellious Zorua and her surprisingly advanced skills at creating illusions in the air around her. How he had caught her on many occasions trying to sneak into the village or after a trade caravan, and sometimes even noticed her lingering close by and eyeing a wagon full of human merchandise.  
How she was convinced that human settlements were not mere towns or villages, but that they were troves full of ancient, foreign treasures, and swore no matter his countless attempts to dissuade her that she had seen humans carrying this treasure almost everywhere they went; how they kept them in little boxes on shelves or how sometimes in little pouches tied at their hips.  
How he had stopped her and Bolt's quarrel and forced her to confess that she had been waiting at every chance for his absence and slinking past the Forest guards to gather as much of this treasure as she could.  
And, finally, how she had followed the path from the crossroad all the way to Luna Tavern, and been convinced that such a remote human settlement must surely belong to the Alpha of the village, and he would surely have more and greater treasures than all of his subordinates combined.  
And how only the boldest - the most daring of treasure hunters would risk delving into his lair and pillaging the greatest of his reserves from the very place he thought them safest...

He explained it all with such a relaxed and impassive tone that Rowan's intensity had waned towards the end of the brief recount, and when he asked his immediate question, the glint of his eyes was a familiar one, and his voice more recognisable.  
"So... what then?" he asked, "What d'you do once you found out? Did she give it up to you?"  
"With some persuasion."  
Rowan paused.  
"So... that's it?" he asked, "That's why you went back? To return some money to Sally?"  
"Money?" Howl replied, one of his ears giving the speculative twitch that his clients had learned to expect by then,  
"It wasn't...  
Oh. That's right, I never actually specified the thing she took..."  
"It... wasn't money?"  
"An accessory, I think. A coin of sorts, hanging off a small length of string, like a necklace-"  
"- A pendant?!" said Rowan sharply, "She stole the pendant I m-"  
-and it seemed to require what strength remained in his exhausted and frustrated mind for him to catch himself mid-sentence.

A slightly awkward silence reigned in-between them for some considerable seconds.

"You're not going to elaborate on that, are you, Rowan?" the Pokémon asked dryly.  
When that too earned no response, he added,  
"Now, I'm not one to pry... but what exactly is the relationship between you two? Are you, perha-"  
"No."  
The reply came so quickly and coldly that Howl couldn't repress his amusement.  
"You don't know what I was going to say!" he exclaimed, smiling, but Rowan's brow was knitted.  
"Yeah, I do," he said, "I know exactly what you were going to say, and I'm telling you, it's not like that.  
We just...  
We're really good friends, alright?"  
" _ **Really**_ good...?"  
"Yes.  
...Wait, no, _**no**_! Not-  
Knock it off!"  
Howl's shoulders bounced with his laughter, his sharp teeth flashing in the light of the flickering lantern.  
"Well, I hope I haven't been something of an oblivious hindrance these last couple days..." he said with a wicked smile crossing his muzzle, "You two are young, I suppose... If, at any point, you want me to give you some privacy, you just let me know, I'll understand..."  
Rowan seemed to flush from the roots of his hair to the soles of his feet, yet he shut his eyes tight and seemed to almost swallow back the anger and respond with all the bare force he could muster,  
"No. That's not it. We're _**just friends**_."  
Howl nodded, but seriously this time.  
"You do seem to care about her quite a lot though, Rowan... far more than a mere friendship..."  
Rowan groaned violently,  
"Urrgh! Will you knock it off already! It's not funny, so just stop!"  
"I'm not _**being**_ funny, Rowan. Truly. I've been observing the way you speak to each-other, and I've also seen how, in spite of all prior reluctance to get involved, when it's _**her**_ life in danger, you are always the first to appear at her side and try to protect her."  
"What, you saying I'm a coward?!"  
"Calm down," the Pokémon growled softly, "I swear you're being about as testy as the runt of a Mankey family."  
"No, I-!  
I..."  
Rowan paused uncertainly.  
"I dunno what that is."  
"No, I suppose you wouldn't... Well, no matter, you get the point. I'm not criticising you of being anything. But surely even you will admit that acting so recklessly on her behalf is more than a mere friendship..."  
Rowan spread his hands helplessly, and when the act fell unheeded, he paced around the flickering lantern for half a minute, before responding in a confiding tone,  
"We've known each-other for a long time. Pretty much our whole lives, actually."  
"Oh?" said the Pokémon, unable to prevent his mind from immediately jumping to himself and Illume.  
"I..." the human continued awkwardly, as if his thoughts were requiring careful arrangement, "She... I... I didn't have a lot when I was a kid. I didn't really have anything. I needed help constantly and... she was there. Always. I really don't think it's much of a stretch to say that she saved my life.  
I owe her more than I can ever repay.  
I'd... _**hate**_ to see her get hurt."  
Silence reigned for an entire minute before Rowan realised the Pokémon's eyes were focused not on him, but on the flame that danced on the ground inside its prison of muddy, scratched glass.  
"Hey!" he said, "Are you listening to me?!"  
Howl blinked, returning from his reverie.  
"I see," he said, "So that's your relationship. It's quite admirable.  
I know many Pokémon who would be envious of such a friendship."  
"Ah... Yeah, well..." Rowan made a non-committal grunt, but it was a relief to see his frown had vanished, and a small smile at the compliment had taken its place.  
But the frown returned before long, though the accusatory tone that had accompanied it had relaxed slightly.  
"So your concern is for her safety, rather than yours," said Howl, "and until you knew who I was, you had no reason to feel it was threatened... but how about now, human? Surely you can trust me now..."  
Rowan met his gaze and his mouth hung as if about to answer.  
He looked wistful, but his mouth closed again before long.  
"No?" said the Demon, "Really?"  
The Lucario's shoulders slumped as weary breath fell in a huff from his snout.  
Then an idea struck him; brought on by no more than the thought of how Chatot might respond to this kind of reception.  
"I suppose... while I have said I'll protect you before, it hasn't been the _**formal**_ mode of promising to protect a client.  
I'll swear an oath to you, Rowan. Will that help you to trust me?"  
"You'll... what? Right now?"  
"Right now," the Pokémon concurred.  
"What'll you swear by?" the human queried.  
"I'll leave that up to you."  
The human pondered this.  
He began to pace idly once more, and finally when he looked up again, it was still a mere hesitance without reply.  
"Yes...?" the Pokémon prodded.  
"Swear by..." said Rowan, feeling for the words, "Swear by... all the memories you have of...  
of your old partner. Illume."

Howl felt all the nerves in his legs struck dumb so that he was unsure whether he was standing or kneeling. Every individual strand of hair on his body bristled so that it looked as if an electric current had shot upwards through him.

His voice hoarse, his heart suddenly beating like Trill the Pidgey's wings as they'd beat the bars of her cage, he swallowed, staring at the human.  
"How... How could you _**possibly**_...?  
"I don't know how that mind-talking of yours works," said Rowan, looking almost as nervous as he'd done when Howl had made his appearance,  
"but you mumble in your sleep. You were saying a name over and over. Some other stuff too.  
I couldn't help hearing!"

Howl breathed deeply until he felt himself growing more steady.

"Well..." he said quietly, "That's one point to you, Rowan."  
"Wh-What're you doing? Why're you-?" Rowan asked as he crossed the small distance the human had withdrawn and bent to one knee at the ground before him, one paw at his chest, the other beside his foot, eyes closed, voice clear and sharp, and his ears and tail as low as he could hold them:  
"Rowan Jovani; Human. By my own honour, on the name of my guild - Wigglytuff's Guild... and... by the memory of my lifelong companion, Illume... I, Howl, apprentice, swear I will guard and escort you and Sally Luna with all my life and limb, either until my body is crushed beyond repair, or until your sanctuary is acquired."

He lifted his head, and was surprised to find his client's face even more flushed than it had been before.  
"Well?" he asked when his words gained no reply.  
"W-Well what?"  
"Do you accept this oath? Or do I need to add some more conditions?"  
"N-No! Of course you... wait, wait, I mean... Yes. I accept the..."  
He trailed off briefly, but added with some solidity in his voice before much time had passed,  
"I accept your oath."  
Howl's ears and tail returned to their usual posture, and he stood to his full height while extending his right paw for the human to shake.  
And with that, the tension that had been weighing over the little space they occupied was lifted. The human seemed to relax at last, and Howl felt the breath flow more gently from his lungs, unaware that he had been subconsciously holding it as the oath had been made.

Howl decided presently that it would be wise for them both to return to their half-set campsite, but Rowan requested he be left alone for a few minutes more.  
He was reluctant, but Howl did not refuse him this; many clients of his guild days had been unaccustomed to the sort of chaos that Feral and Mystery Dungeons could bring, and if one of his first ever human clients needed time to process all that had happened in solitude, then so be it, he thought.  
Though he did not leave before giving the human a polite reminder that they were not alone in their travels, and that he ought not to linger for too long.  
A polite reminder that was punctuated by a light warning that if he had not returned by the time the Demon had checked on Sally and asked after her condition, he would have no qualms about hauling him back if necessary.  
For the client's own safety, of course.

When he had drawn level to the gently-glowing golden Aura, he felt a current of surprise at the sounds that greeted him:  
The crackle of fire, the gently bubbling of boiling liquid, and the voice of the human client hailing him.  
He opened his eyes and saw Sally stirring the contents of a copper pot, and her mouth curved in a cautious half-smile while her eyes seemed to ask how he felt.  
He registered her question, and answered,  
"Just talking to Rowan as a matter of fact. He says he'll be on his way back soon. I was going to look for you next."  
"Me? Why? I was only gone for about ten-"  
-but Howl's eyes had flicked to a spot above her head, where Pidgey had awoken from apparent slumber on the tree branch and flown towards Howl's outstretched fist, twittering words which Sally had no means to understand save for the expressions that flitted across the Pokémon's faces in turn.  
"Ten minutes?" Howl asked, addressing the human, "What were you doing?"  
"Uhh... lavatory things, you know."  
"That's not what our friend here tells me."  
"W-What? What do you - Was she spying on m-"  
"She says she saw you pacing in the field, kicking stones and pine-cones about, showing all the signs she could distinguish of somebody in distress."  
The little flying Pokémon lilted briefly, drawing the Demon's gaze away from Sally's reddening cheeks.  
"And that you were there for at least twenty minutes before you finally made your way back," he added.  
The Pidgey caught wind of the expression aimed at her and took flight at once while Howl moved over to sit beside the human.  
"Your eyes are red," he commented.  
"So are yours," she replied with an elusive smile.  
"That's not what I mean, and you know it."  
"Excuse me?"  
"Why did you really wander off? Was it because of what I said?"  
"No! I mean, it was unnerving to see you... like that. But no. I just... needed some time alone, is all."  
"You and Rowan both, it seems... but he at least confessed I was the problem."  
"It's not _**you**_!"  
"Then what were you crying about?"

Sally's face veered from emotion to emotion at the question that was almost more akin to accusation.  
Then she balled her fists around the folds of her cloak and clenched her eyes shut tight.  
"Did you... Did you actually see the family in the wagon?" she asked after a minute,  
"Did you catch much of our conversation?"  
"I didn't see them clearly," he responded, "but I overheard some of your conversation."  
"Then you know how kind they were to us?"  
"I caught enough to know you weren't in danger, but..."  
"Did you know it was because of them that the guards found out we were in town?"

The Guardian said nothing. Sally's voice had changed as she'd spoken, and even Pidgey who  
had alighted from the air above to rest on top of his head was able to asses her emotions.

"She... They betrayed us," Sally continued in a murmur, a tremble escaping her voice which her tired, beaten, frightened body retained no strength to hold back,  
"Just like that, no hesitation, no... nothing! Just turned us in for the gold!" she seethed on, the image of Helen's disappointed face vivid like the sun in her mind,  
"And... And she - Helen, the mother, she was so ni-...  
No... No, not 'nice', she was... she was _**kind**_ to us! She treated our wounds, gave us medicine to take, worried over us...!  
She was... She was like what a real-"  
But through the torrent of bitter emotion, she just managed to stop herself in time and swallow down the final word.  
She held her gaze towards the boiling pot and resumed stirring through its contents with the cleanest stick she could find.  
Her face was set, determined not to show the emotions that her voice had already given away, and she waited stoutly for their guide to inquire further on what she had been about to say.  
Then his voice broke the silence at last,  
"She must have been conflicted about doing it. I doubt it was an easy decision if she was as kind as you say."  
Sally scoffed.  
"Doesn't matter, she still did it," she replied coldly, "and she looked more like she was upset with us than with anybody else, so she can't have felt _**that**_ guilty."  
"Perhaps _**she**_ felt betrayed when she found out you were criminals."  
Sally stammered for speech, incredulous.  
"What does it matter?!" she burst out, "Why are you taking her side?!"  
"Because you're allowing your anger to cloud your judgement and fabricate her as some kind of wicked, self-serving individual. That's far beneath one such as you."  
Sally stammered again, and he quickly intervened, "I don't know you or Rowan's full stories... There could be a perfectly just reason to why you might feel this way, or there might not. What we Civilised Pokémon know for certain, however, is that painting anybody as wholly bad doesn't do anyone any favours, not for even yourself.  
Don't humans grow up with their carers telling them stories of understanding and sympathy? Even with those who have done us wrong?  
While there are certainly some roads that any with a conscience would be unwilling to go down, choosing to simply label those who draw near to is as 'bad' is to wilfully ignore the bigger picture.  
The message of all those childhood stories we're told is that it doesn't take a bad Poké-... a bad _**person**_ to do bad things.  
Condemn, even hate the wrongs that are inflicted on us... but never the individual. Especially when that individual shows anyone acts of genuine kindness."

Sally could do little more than stare, her expression almost inscrutable but for the intense glow of her widened eyes.  
There was little for either one to see the other's expressions by, for their surroundings were sombrely lit but for the fountain of sparks that leapt from their fire every minute so.  
Finally she managed to continue her intermittent stirring of the copper pot and picked her way through to the words of her response with care.  
"No," she answered after failing to assert the complexity of her emotions, "I can't say we humans are told that when we're kids. Or... ever, really."  
"Ah," the Pokémon replied quietly, "Well. Now you know."  
Sally felt a little flutter in her chest at the remark. Then before she'd had time to figure what the feeling had even been, she found herself laughing almost uncontrollably so that she had to let go of the stick and clasp her hand over her mouth, preventing the mirth from growing too loud.  
Once she had collected herself, she saw that their guide had taken over the duty of stirring in her absence, and with his expression more strongly-lit by the flames, she queried,  
"Isn't that quite a thing for kid Pokémon to be told? A pretty large concept for them to grasp?"  
"Not at all," the Pokémon admonished, "It's the perfect time for them to learn it. Children's minds are much more impressionable. It's important to start teaching them the idea of learning to see the bigger picture as early as one can."  
Sally couldn't imagine the predicament of telling a child of her own about philosophy. But then she'd never had much thought of becoming a parent herself, so perhaps there was no need to imagine it.  
She watched Howl stirring the food and wondered if he might had children waiting for him back in the Forest.  
Or perhaps yet, what his own childhood had been like. Who his 'carer' had been. And for almost a full minute she went over the ways in her head she might phrase her questions, but decided against them in the end. He would tell her if he wanted her to know. And in truth, she found the prospect of asking him to tell her to be a daunting one.

After some time, perhaps ten minutes or even half an hour, the sound of footsteps resolved themselves into the familiar form of Rowan, panting from the strain of the uphill climb and face soon alighted with glee from the sounds and smells that greeted him from the boiling pot - now with its contents being tipped carefully into mugs for each of them beside some sliced bread from the market.  
The Pokémon helped themselves to gathered herbs and roots, and as had been the case the previous night (which they could hardly believe to have been no more than twenty-four hours ago), the Pokémon allowed the humans to try any of their own foods.  
Feeling it were only an act of courtesy at that point, Sally washed down the peculiar root with a gulp of soup from her own mug and looked over to the two Pokémon.  
"So..." she began, their guide's gaze fixing upon her in a moment, "Would you like anything?"  
His ears gave their little speculative twitch, and she added for clarification:  
"Some of our food. To try, I mean."  
His gaze fell to the mat she indicated, and she saw him shift slightly, his tail giving an involuntary swish. He was tempted.  
He singled out a small huddle of miniature quiches, packed to the brim with mushroom and spinach, and she happily let them toast in the pot over the fire before handing a couple to him, managing to repress her smile as his entire fur coat bristled at the bare heat of the little things resting between his paws.

Finally, when their appetites were sated and the gleam of the fire had begun to dim, Sally felt herself nodding off into gradual slumber, and would no doubt have surrendered to it happily  
had it not been for the deep voice of their guide creeping into her drifting thoughts, and his paw placing a handful of kindle onto the glowing embers before she could do so.  
The tone of his voice held her attention without struggle, however.  
"Sally... Rowan..." he said gently,  
"I... I need to apologise to you two. What I said earlier... it was wrong. Unjustifiable. I was... angry. You two couldn't be further from the likes of them... You're every bit as kindly and trustworthy as Emmia.  
Well... that is... if she's as I remember her."  
By now, Sally's fatigue had crept away as if it had never come, and every separate sense she had was focused in full capacity on the Guardian's words.  
He went on, eyes gazing sombrely into the flickering embers, as if he were speaking more to himself,  
"It's strange... I never thought I'd be nervous at the thought of seeing her again.  
I left because I had to... From what I'd heard from fleeing sky-roamers and sea-dwellers, things were...  
And I know I made the right decision. Finding the survivors and captives, taking the Forest from the Feral, creating a safe place for _**anyone**_ who needed protection... I don't question any of that... but...  
Four years.  
It's been four years - maybe even _**five**_ since the day I left.  
I worry about how that time has changed her...  
Has she really been alone all this time? Has she managed to cope?  
What if she loathes me when we finally meet again? How will she react when I tell her I can't stay?  
I just..."  
He shook his head, and each human saw to their amazement that true unease was etched into his expression, and neither of them dared say a word over him,  
"I don't know..." he finished at last, "I'm... uneasy.  
How can I possibly tell her all that's happened?  
How can I _**possibly**_ make up for all these years away?"

The delicate flames hissed and spat; the distant murmur of the sleeping Pokémon below had faded into silence; and still Sally and Rowan were at a loss what to say. Neither of them would have had the faintest inkling to their guide showing such a vulnerable side to them, much less about the very keeper of the sanctuary they were seeking.  
Then his shoulders began to bounce, and Sally thought for a crazed moment that it were of sobs.  
But it was a quiet, gentle laughter, almost imperceptible even among the silence of the night.  
She sensed Rowan lean in close and felt him whisper,  
"He's daffy...! He's completely out of his mind!  
I told you that the blood loss would have _**some**_ -"  
but their guide's voice cut through,  
"And how would you know what a Pokémon's mind is like, Rowan?"  
Rowan gave a little yelp, and Sally knew she would have laughed at the sound under any other circumstances.  
Yet now, the laughter simply did not come.  
She gazed over the fading embers at the Demon of The Forest with melting, piteous eyes, and he simply shook his head, some of his more familiar subtleties returning to his bearing, and he seemed to rouse himself as he asked mildly,  
"Why am I telling you this...? Sorry. Don't mind me, I'm just... just venting."  
"Don't apologise," said Sally at once, "You're the last one out of all of us who needs to apologise for being frustrated."  
"You're too kind," he said, smiling, "But that's no excuse for my earlier behaviour."  
"Y-Yeah, that... wasn't nice," she admitted, "But... we knew you didn't mean it _**really**_."  
"And so you took off because...?"  
She twisted her mouth, glanced to Rowan for some support, but found him to be watching her inertly, and knew the responsibility was all on her to answer.  
"That... wasn't right of us. So... we should apologise for that too. Really sorry for that, Howl."  
"Sorry," Rowan concurred, and his tone was genuine, for all the assistance he had given her.  
The Pokémon waved away their apologies, but it was with an air of ease rather than that of scorn.

The humans became more relaxed as the conversation waned, and their bodies became slacker as the burning flames receded into embers once again. Howl felt his own concentration giving way, and would have liked nothing more than to lay his back against the dusty earth and let the exhaustion he had been wrestling back finally carry him away, in the company of the few human friends he had ever made, with the almost dream-like blackness of the sky shadowing them from all that might do them harm.  
To his surprise, however, it was Pidgey who swept in as his voice of rationality, hopping lightly to the end of his muzzle and hurling miniature gusts if wind into his eyes with her wings.  
"We gotta go," she said, "The other Pokémon will wonder where you've gone if you fall asleep here."  
He dug his claws into the earth at his side and clenched a small mound of it in his paw before forcing his eyes open, murmuring his agreement and labouring to his feet.  
Sally found her drifting attention suddenly breached when Howl stood, lost his balance and had to clutch on to the nearby solitary tree to reclaim it.

"What's happening?" she asked, preparing to wake Rowan, but the Pokémon explained swiftly.  
"But what if _**we**_ need you?" she asked, realising how childish her jumbled voice had sounded in saying it.  
"This one says she is small and inconspicuous, and won't be easily missed if she stays behind. If there's any trouble, she'll come and get me."  
"Oh," Sally responded, her eye catching that of the Pidgey's for what she thought might have been the very first time.  
"Tell her that's very thoughtful, and we appreciated it."  
The Pokémon spoke in his gruff, incomprehensible tongue, and though she understood neither it nor the reply that came, she thought she saw the bodily signs of resignation, or perhaps even irritation in the Pidgey.  
Nevertheless, he wore a wry smile as he translated for her briefly,  
"She says you're welcome."  
She smirked back, and watched him depart, letting the Pidgey flutter in the air before vanishing beyond the light of the dying fire's reach.  
No sooner had he gone, then the Pidgey seemed to hesitate, then followed after him, though she could tell it was simply to see him off.

"Glad to see you're not so wary of them anymore," he said as they neared the base of the little hill.  
"Just don't want _**you**_ to worry, is all," she admonished, adding, "They won't try anything, though, will they? Humans don't eat Pidgeys... right?"  
"Even if they did, why would they want you? You're... tiny."  
"Humans can't fly, can they?"  
"You _**know**_ they can't, miss. You're quite safe, as you well know. You volunteered to watch over them, after all."  
"I dunno..." she mused, tailing off into a volley of doubtful mutterings.  
Howl turned round and lifted his palm to her feet, saying, "I did tell you in the Mystery Dungeon that they were different, didn't I? And by the looks of things, you're starting to make that realisation for yourself.  
But I know it can't be easy for you, considering... well, everything that's happened to you because of their kind. It means a great deal to me that you'd do such a thing. Truly, thank you."  
"Said it already, I'm not really doing it for them..."  
"All the same, though."  
The Pidgey nodded, more to herself than to his words, and hovered again, ready to return to her post.  
"I won't let you down," she said, "I'll keep 'em just as safe as you would.  
Goodnight, mister."  
"Goodnight, Trill."  
She smiled and fluttered away, and he made his steady course towards where he would be seen, but not disturbed by the other sleepers.

Then,  
" _ **Wait a minute**_!"  
Trill came fluttering back to his side and spoke so loudly he had to shush her on behalf of their distant company,  
"You just called me by name! Who told you my name?! And _**now**_ you start using it?! After a day-and-a-stinking-half?!"  
"The old Charizard told me. Was it a secret?"  
"Why'd _**you**_ never ask?! What's _**your**_ name then?!"  
She asked the second question before waiting half a second for an answer to the first, and he responded plainly,  
"It's Howl, alright? I'm Howl. Now, I'm going to sleep.  
 _ **Goodnight**_ to you."  
-and with nary a glance back at her stifled muttering and half-spoken words, he moved on, with a little more haste than before.

"Howl?" the Pidgey pondered as she too made her trek through the dark, "That's... weird. Why would he be named...?  
...Ohh.  
...Ohh!  
That... actually makes sense. A lot of sense. Really suits somebody like... him."

 **The Scyther's blades tore at the flesh of his forearms that had rose in defence, a blur of steely-white moving too fast for the eye to follow, yet Howl forced his senses through the pain and found the rhythm of its blows, ducking below its flailing arms and preparing to strike its middle, yet the Shadow's reflexes were as keen as his own, and no sooner had he dove down than it had raised its leg as if to kick, yet through sheer adrenaline, the wounded, desperate Lucario opened his palm a mere nanosecond in time and caught the speeding foot between them, propelling himself forwards on his powerful, evolved legs and flinging the appendage skyward, forcing his vicious quarry to fall onto their back, their skull poised to meet his speeding Force Palm with all the strength its owner could muster.  
Then the abominable creation was gone. No sooner had the strike connected, and its target had vanished in a spark of ominous, amethyst-hued smoke.  
Howl the apprentice was never to witness it, however; he had barely seized his advantage over the Scyther when another Shadow had been fast approaching to claim its place, and the sole Guild-Mon had no remaining senses strong enough to have detected it.  
The Shadow-cursed Machamp crashed into him, wrapping two of its arms around him and crushing his ribs in its grasp while its two extra arms held it steady as it skidded against the earth, where it pinned his arms down and began to drive its fist into the spot where his head would have been, had the Lucario not turned to the lesser-used of all his Moves; Detect, at the moment he had realised himself to be trapped. Though the speeding fist cracked and slid against his left cheek, it did not land a clean blow. The fist plunged into the ash-strewn earth and anchored itself in place, and the second of the Machamp's fists was drawn back for another attempt, and Howl had no room now to shift his head out the way, and through maddening desperation, he rushed Aura into each of his palms, charging separate Spheres in each, overfilling them in but a single moment and small, uncontrolled bursts of Aura erupted with the near-entirety of their impact being felt in the wrists of the Shadow.  
The Machamp's fingers convulsed and Howl wrenched his paws free just in time to intercept the approaching left-shoulder-fist with Force Palm, blasting it away but cutting himself on the cheek as his paws ricochet back, carrying their spikes with them.  
Directly before him, occupying every corner of his vision, he saw the void within the Shadow's chest and ploughed his fist inside with all his adrenaline-fuelled power as if to aim for its beating heart.  
The Shadow's glowing eyes blazed as its body was sent into a tumult of shuddering convulsions, and as its own body was wreathed in the amethyst, sparking energy, it surged across Howl's arm and enveloped him too, veiling him beneath purple streaks of electric currents which felt as though an iron hand had grasped ahold of his entire being and made to crumple it up like a wad of paper.  
He had no breath with which to yell, no strength with which to struggle and break loose. But before long, the Shadow had vanished, taking the surge of abyssal, otherworldly light along with it, leaving the Guild Pokémon to collapse in the centre of ash-strewn square.  
His head spun, his throat was raw, and every individual strand of fur across his body felt as though it were ablaze. But throughout every moment of battle and bodily torment, his mind had not relinquished the thought of his fleeing comrades, and even now it flared his insides, igniting his will, finding his hidden reserves of strength, and he slid unsteadily to his knees and made to push himself up - but the arm he had used to defeat the Shadow merely hung limp at his side, heedless of the commands his mind gave it.  
A buzzing sensation coursed through it from the shoulder to the fingers, not unlike when it had fallen asleep, but through the numbness was an insurmountable ache in the bones as if each of them bad been fractured across the middle.  
Even as he tried to flex his fingers, they remained lifeless.  
Here, in the midst of the most gruelling battle of his entire skirmish-filled life, he had managed to lose the use of his arm to such an extent that he would not even be able to charge an Aura Sphere with it.**

 **A crash from somewhere behind, and he spun to face its source just as he saw the rocky capsule fracture down the centre in all directions, criss-crossing its surface like an Ariados' web, before the containment shattered and out came what could be no less than twenty Shadow-cursed Zubat, Noibat and Golbat, and then they were all around him, their cries ravaging his eardrums and claws tearing at his flesh without mercy.**

Through the silence of the mountain range, Sally found her course a surprisingly easy one, for all that she had volunteered to leave the lantern behind and navigate her way solely by the glistening moon.  
Despite her fatigue, the lure of sleep had eluded her, and after what had seemed an eternity of perpetual dark, she had seized her chance the second the moon had revealed itself, reached into her luggage, pulled the item of choice out, and crept down the pathway on silent feet.  
She had kept low and moved as close as she had dared towards the still-burning fire in the midst of the sleeping escapee Pokémon, but no matter where she had looked, she had not been able to spot the familiar form of their guide anywhere among them.  
Now, her eyes guided towards her objective by the moon's rays bouncing off the water's surface, she weaved her way through the tall grass towards the pond, her pulse still speeding from just how close she had drawn to the sleeping creatures.  
Her course reached the water sooner than she had expected, and she stepped ankle-deep into its bitingly-cold depths, only just managing to grit her teeth and contain her voice.  
A soft grunt met her ears, and she looked towards its source find her target in plain sight, his head propped against a small log, and body splayed out on the dusty earth facing the pond.  
The pale light from the heavens illuminated his dirt-covered, matted fur, and his brow glistened with sweat as his whole being shook with another gasp or moan, only for it to be swiftly cut off before she could discern which it had been.  
She made to approach, to place the item on the ground beside him, but realised no; the sound of it might awaken or alert him, and she withdrew a couple steps even further before placing the thing down before her and reaching quietly into her pocket.

 **It was all a phantasmagoria now; crimson, purple, glistening white fangs flashing across his sight, flapping wings, sharpened points seeking every bare patch of flesh on his being.  
His eyes clenched shut, his body enveloped in an almost literal tornado of racing shapes, he roared skyward in rage and anguish, and from every part of him, his Aura surged outwards, billowing the attackers away without even his full awareness, let alone his command.  
A nearby, singular screeched drew his wide, twitching, bone-dry eyes towards a solitary Golbat who seemed to have taken the least of the impact and swerved round for a counter-attack.  
Thoughts in the Lucario's mind were beginning to abandon him, and indeed there was little use for them now.  
But the emotions that were beginning to stir within him were overwhelming, almost beyond description. They urged him forth, and he bared his fangs at his quarry, sprinting to meet their assault with an outstretched paw, claws ready to snatch them down from the empty air.**

The Pokémon's sounds of discontent were growing, and not just in their volume. His trembling body was beginning to writhe, twist and turn, making Sally almost sickened to witness it.  
She had thought her present actions secretive, perhaps even disingenuous, but now that she saw the extent his suffering amounted to, her doubts had been thoroughly erased.  
She remembered how vehemently the shopkeeper had spoken of the product in question, how close to obstinate he had been about its effectiveness in the face of her hesitance, and she found herself hoping very much that every word had been sincere as she struck a second match - successfully this time - and held its flame towards thecandle in its glass jar, delicate-looking leaves and colourful petals stuffed among the wax, and after letting the wick burn for a few moments, she leaned in close to place it besides the sleeper. ****

 **The Golbat's barely recognisable body vanished amidst the glow, and Howl wrenched his claws free before the energy could do him harm a second time. His racing mind latched onto the sensation of rushing air and he flung out a paw almost at random, his fingers closing round a thin, airborne leg and he brought it down, crashing it into the earth. A moment later, the Shadow Noibat met its end at his claws just as its predecessor had done.  
Howl tried to gather himself, tried to regain some control over himself, but it was as if the very chaos of the battle was seeping into his being.  
He looked heavenward and saw the flock of Shadows he had blown away circling him above, but there was something peculiar about them.  
The Shadows were not beings capable of emotion such as fear, or thought such as strategy. Their movements looked ragged, certainly, as if they had sustained damage to their wings, but there was a kind of indecisive pattern to them.**

 **Then something broke through the torrent of his mind.  
A voice.  
An unfamiliar, but instantly recognisable voice.  
Slow, dark and confiding; murmuring, almost purring to him from within his very own mind, so that it carried through even the surrounding chaos and the thundering blood as it raced through his ears.**

 **"Well now... isn't that a surprise..."**

 **Then the surroundings changed in but a single heartbeat; The static Zubats and their company evaporating as if struck down in one fell sweeping strike; The remaining rocks crumbled in the middle of their descent, their occupants joining their kin in bodiless slumber; and the dark, swirling skies above relinquished their clouds, allowing the crimson glow of the blood-red sun to suffuse the burning, rubbled remains of Treasure Town in its tinge.  
Though he was indeed in a nightmare, not a detail was a mere figment of the horror in his subconscious mind: Everything he witnessed was precisely as it had been and vivid as though he had stepped back in time.  
And through it all, the silence reigned absolute, with not a stir of leaves or the running of waters, or the crack of embers atop the piles of rubble all around.  
Nothing but the endless ringing in his ears.  
His breath rose and fell in hot wafts before his face as he heard that calm, almost gentle voice in his mind continue to observe, speaking with the same eloquent and intelligent-sounding tone that Chatot had used, as though the owner was learned beyond imagining.**

 **"I thought it must be the Guild Pokémon, returning at last from their cowering, ready to meet their fates... but only one of you... Only one...  
And here I had felt the need to restock my supply of puppet-warriors before I faced you again...  
You don't have the faintest inkling to what's happened here, do you, Civilised cub? Now where could they be, your guild comrades...? Where are the townsfolk? Oh the questions you must have..."**

 **Howl spun round to face every direction he could, feeling as though it required every mote of his will to not collapse to the ground and be sick.  
The voice had a profound effect on the battle-worn Pokémon.  
He had feared for that of his comrades, feared for his clients too, but never before had the mere thought of seeing, imagining the face he was about to see filled him with such cold, unyielding, nameless dread before.  
He dreaded the voice speaking even a word further, trembled at the prospect of witnessing the nightmare of a face that must accompany such a voice.**

 **"I** _know_ **you're a Guild Pokémon, young Lucario. Because you must be.  
No idle town-folk **_runt-of-the-litter_ **could stand against one of my warriors... and you've defeated no less than dozens...  
Perhaps you have an idea as to where the warriors of your guild would hide if their town were assailed like this..."**

 **Howl had been weighing his options frantically in his mind all the while, and had arrived at the conclusion that if Giratina was indeed capable of flight, that his best option would be to lure him towards the mountain, towards the guild's clifftop entrance. There would be less mobility for Howl, but less room for his quarry to summon more of his so-called "puppet warriors". From there, he would make his stand. Either the army of Shadows would continue to torment him, or the leader of the army in question would personally wish to face him. If it came to the latter, perhaps a chance would reveal itself and he would be able to escape, either sliding down the mountain to level ground, or perhaps even find a way out by delving into the guild itself.  
And if those escape plans were to fail him...  
Well, he had known the risks. So long as he put up a fight, his mission would be a success. His comrades, his family would have the time they needed to escape.  
He looked all around him again for the source of the voice, gazing up once more into the crimson sky for some dark, looming figure imprinted on the heavens. But no form revealed itself.  
And still, even as he searched, the voice continued ponderously,  
"Perhaps they're simply lying in wait... hoping I'll leave their little town be so they can creep out of the rubble and begin anew..."  
Howl began to move, began to run, and then a sharp, whip-like pain slashed across his legs and he fell flat onto his front, rolling round to face the one who had used the Move Slash.  
But again, no matter where his gaze fell, no opponent met his eye.  
The dark voice in his mind sighed exasperatedly, and with it Howl felt a flow of wind sweep over the town square and ruffle against his fur.  
Then he blinked, and in the millisecond that his eyes took to open and close, his view was obscured almost completely by a great, towering, coal-black figure that seemed to be formed out of the very dark of the night, looming over him perhaps ten times his size.  
"Perhaps... you were about to lead me to them, Civilised cub..." concluded the voice as its owner stooped his great, elongated neck down to catch the eye of his prey,  
"How very thoughtless of you..."**

"There..." Sally whispered, after trying to waft the smell of the candle towards him for about a minute, "I hope this works... I really do.  
If there were ever anybody who deserved peaceful sleep it'd be... well."  
She gazed down at the Pokémon, and her hand went out towards his head without conscious thought. Just before her fingers came into contact with his fur, however, the memory of the incident in the cave resurfaced, and she hesitated, her unease wrestling hard against compassion. ****

 **Howl's throat had been parched by the sight that met him, so that he could not have responded even if he had somehow wanted to.  
The figure before him was of a kind of Pokémon he had never thought to exist.  
Body covered from head to toe in the inky blackness of the abyss, great Zubat-like wings stood out gigantic against the crimson of the sky, and eyes - red, like his own, but of a more soulless, calculating and brutal shade than his had ever come close to, and bearing no visible pupils.  
Giratina's blood-red orbs stared straight into his helpless gaze with a wicked malevolence that felt as if clawed hands had grasped ahold of his brain and were pressing their points inside with enough agony to make his eyes roll back in his skull and his heart seem to leap upward into his dehydrated throat.  
Suddenly, a vine, or a tentacle - some unidentifiable form of a limb shot outward from Giratina's side and coiled itself around Howl's body, over and over and over until it wrapped itself once around his throat, its end sharpening into a pale-white, singular claw which settled on his skull.  
"It's over now, young one..." said the self-proclaimed Emissary of Nature, vocally now, and as he did so, vile, ancient breath that felt it could boil oceans pressed down into the Lucario's fur, and Giratina grinned, his mouth a gaping mass of slavering fangs.  
Trapped.  
Powerless.  
Helpless.  
His end so very near.  
Shining, carnivorous teeth poised to sink into his body.  
An impalpable fear and incomprehensible anger.**

 **"** _Oh_ **...? What's this...?"  
So slightly only its target could have known it, the restriction on Howl's windpipe slackened.  
Giratina drew himself nearer, secure in the knowledge that his quarry was thoroughly restrained.  
"Can it be...?  
But surely...  
In a guild... surely not...  
Ohh...  
Oh-ho-ho, yes...  
** _It is_ **!  
You **_are_ **...!"  
Giratina's vice-like grip relented even more, and Howl stared back with eyes blazing with hatred and teeth has drawn as he could make them.  
"Do they know, young one...?  
Did your guild ever find out...?"**

 **The glowing red of Giratina's eyes enveloped his vision, but then from what felt like across the boundaries of reality, something extraordinary slithered its way into his thoughts.  
A sense of calm. The most wonderful breath of air passing effortlessly into his lungs, the most mellow of flavours entering his nostrils and settling delicately on the back of his tongue.**

Finally, as her fatigue caught up with her and began to envelop the contending emotions within her in its haze, the last to vanish was that of compassion, and she placed a hand against the fur of his head, between his ears and smoothed her palm over it gently.  
She was alarmed to find just how soft it was, for all that it was covered in filth and tangled over, and for all the character its owner had shown.  
Then she stood and turned, disappearing into the dark, leaving their guide to his blissful rest. ****

 **Treasure Town had vanished all around him.  
His nightmare antagonist was nowhere to be seen, and he knew, in that special dream way, that he had quite simply vanished along with the rest of the horrors he had been forced to relive.  
He was not among the destroyed remains of his hometown now; he was running, sprinting across a verdant field, an old Vulpix acquaintance of his bounding gracefully ahead of him, her happy voice carried back to him on the breeze, daring him, urging him to catch up.  
He was not an evolved Pokémon any longer, but a child, a Riolu again, with all the cares and concerns of adulthood left quite behind him, wherever that happened to be in this familiar, yet untraceable paradise they were in.**

 **Then as his vision was obscured by the curtain of tall grass again, his surroundings changed again, and somehow he was aware of the change before it had even happened.**

 **He was in The Forest, with the performers singing their slow, low-yet-joyous winter melody as shining snowflakes descended from the heavens and glistened in the light of the moon and the fires all around - and were tossed and blown sideways by he and Mist as they held fast in each-other's arms and danced and swerved to the performers' tune, slowly, gracefully, hardly leaving a trace in the snow as they moved, and Mist's face the happiest he had ever seen it, a delicate flush on her cheeks that had puzzled him at the time, and did so even now in the dream.**

 **He was seated among his forest-companions, celebrating loudly their stoic victory, their mighty, daring rescue of no less than thirty captive Pokémon at once, all alive and without permanent injury, laughing with Gurdurr's merciless recontinuance of the human's panicked faces, clasping his sparring rival Hawlucha on the back only to be clasped back in return.**

 **Himself and the two sisters Mist and Knoll, the former a Kirlia still and the latter only a Ralts sat quietly together round the fire they had lit inside a cave to escape the downpour, and how he had awoken to find their little bodies nestled close to him on each side, pressing as close as they could into his warm fur, their hands linked together at his chest.**

 **The memories swirled and merged together, overlapping and rippling like the surface of the water until, many hours later, he awoke to the sun's gentle dawn-light on his eyes, pulling his almost struggling mind from the depths of a sleep so beautiful he could not bear to let it go.  
** His mind clung helplessly on to the final vision that had swam before him, desperately trying to wrap him in its warm embrace again, but there was no arguing with the sun, and finally he awoke to the still, quiet isolation of the mountain, feeling the aches and pains in his joints begin to creep back into the forefront of his focus, and he gasped from the sudden spear of it that shot through him as he tried to sit up.  
A final lingering waft of that otherworldly scent was carried towards his muzzle by a gentle breeze, and his mind wandered to a memory so distant that he wondered briefly whether it had really happened or if it had been a part of the dream.  
But as the details of the memory grew in clarity and quantity, he knew his doubts were unfounded.  
It had been when he was still a young Riolu, a mere year or perhaps slightly more since he and Illume had first joined Wigglytuff's Guild.  
He had misjudged the flow of the battle, and had paid the price for it. The Feral Aerodactyl had seen an opening in his defences and swooped down upon him, savaging the fledgling warrior until his companions had leapt to his rescue.  
He had been immediately returned to the guild and treated to a full recovery, but the damage had been more than just superficial.  
The small but powerful wing of Chatot had settled over his back as the aforementioned Pokémon had slipped his head underneath for support, and lifted the little Riolu to his feet speaking over the young one's frightened moans.  
"Up now, Howl, all the way up. There are helpless civilians out there who need our Guild-Mon on their feet."  
But at this, the Riolu had collapsed to his knees and sobbed without restraint, his paws clamping shut across his torso at the opposing shoulders.  
"I can't, Chatot..." he had mumbled through streaming tears, "I don't want... I'm scared. It hurt so much... It still hurts so much..."  
"Now now, my boy..." the Flying-Type had lilted, his voice uncharacteristically soft, "You have nothing to fear. You're a Guild Pokémon. You're a natural warrior. You don't need to fear the Feral... Quite the contrary as a matter of fact. If they aren't already, _**they**_ should be afraid of _**you**_. You're strong. Mighty, even. None of them come close to even matching you, Howl. And as for the pain... well... there's only one silver lining to be found in that, really. Embrace the pain, little one. Let it flow freely and strengthen you with every step you take. No matter how great it is, in the end serves as firm, absolute proof that you are still alive. Proof that, in addition to all else you endured as a mere hatchling, you can even survive losing to a Feral as... demonic as that one.  
Not just because you're a Guild Pokémon, or because you've had an _**excellent**_ teacher like myself... but because you're _**you**_."  
Howl the Riolu had fallen silent at the words, and paused in his sniffing to look up with tear-streamed eyes.  
"Relish the pain, my brave little protégé. For it is the proof that no matter the nature of the horrors that brought it about, despite it all, you are still here, alive.  
You can't win every battle...  
but you, Howl... you can survive _**anything**_.  
The Feral and criminals of the land will _**never**_ have a prayer of escaping you."

From across the sea of grass, a Pokémon voice called in search of him, and he opened his eyes fully to the sky.  
He flexed his arms and legs tenderly, and when his body didn't punish him for it, sat up and looked around, noticing at last the little glass jar at his side from which the unidentified miraculous scent originated.  
But where had it come from? Who had placed it there beside him?  
He picked it up and inhaled what little remained of the scent before labouring to his feet and heading towards the voice to answer their call.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter Twenty-Three:  
A familiar face  
**_

* * *

"I swear," grumbled an unseen voice, before what felt like the hilt of a knife was shoved into her ribcage, making her start and finally open her eyes to the bright morning in front of her.  
Sally saw Howl stood over her for but a moment before he moved on to wake Rowan, and she untangled her limbs from her recently-purchased sleeping-bag and sat up to witness the newly-risen sun shining its light on the lichens and mosses to a crisp brilliance beneath the glow.  
She felt her hair and cheeks moistened from the morning dew and reached into her pack for a towel as she heard her companion groaning reluctantly, even as he was prodded with more and more force as the seconds went by.  
Finally she rolled her eyes and stood up, unsteady at first and nearly losing her footing from the simple act, surprised to find her head swimming and stomach churning with the dull pang of famine.  
She supposed even in their sleep, their bodies were rapidly consuming energy simply to recover from the trials of their journey thus far, but she mastered herself and saw Howl preparing to drop whatever was in his arms - perhaps to apply more force to his efforts - before she stepped in swiftly.  
"Here, here, I got this," she said, "leave him to me..."  
-and she knelt down beside Rowan, his mind still clinging to the comfort of slumber, and she leaned in close to his right ear, her nose almost in direct contact with his hair, and Howl saw her lips move, just slightly, as she whispered something even he couldn't interpret even with ears like his.  
The effect was immediate; following a final, and particularly fluent movement of the mouth, Sally's words caused Rowan's eyes to snap open and the youth himself to struggle vainly in the confines of his sleeping bag before he freed his arms, clasped a hand over his mouth and scrabbled backwards away from her and the Pokémon; gasping, panting, eyes wide with a sudden cold horror, which turned to deepest fury as Sally's laughter met his ears.  
"You-!" he began, but couldn't finish. He seemed incoherent with anger,  
"Sally! I told you to nev-  
 ** _Stop_** doing that! It's not funny! It was _**never**_ funny!"  
"What?" Howl asked, beginning to smile at Sally's relentless snickering, "What did she do?"  
"She said... **_some stuff,_** " replied Rowan elusively, "Brought up some bad memories."  
"Oh, don't be dramatic," she cut in at once, still smiling at the joke, " _ **Embarrassing**_ is more accurate."  
"I told you to never do that again!" he cried, his voice beginning to rise until Howl shushed him so sharply that even Sally had to hiccup her mirth down.  
"Alright," said the Pokémon, his tone serious, though the corners of his mouth still fighting to hold down his own smile, "keep it down, now. We're not alone, remember? And since the three of us are awake... **_finally_** ," - he added a glance even in Sally's direction at this, "I think it's time for the three of us to-"  
-but a quiet sound cut over his words. A little gurgling sound straight from Sally's middle.  
"...Exactly," he finished idly.  
Sally awkwardly rubbed the back of her head and glanced to each of them in turn with a Mareepish smile.  
He crouched towards the centre of the little clearing, where Sally had been sleeping not a full ten minutes before and finally lowered the contents of his arms to the ground, revealing it to be foods of fruit, fungi and foliage.  
The humans crowded close and began eating at once, only just realising how hungry they were while Howl unsheathed a single claw and began to trace something into the earth between them.  
Sally slaked her thirst from the flask and asked at last what it was, only to find the answer before she had completed her question; it was a map. But of what? Of where?  
The answer came before she had spoken;  
"Alright, you two. Do you have a map? I want you to precisely memorise the route I've drawn out for you."  
"We're gonna split up?" Rowan asked with a vain attempt to hide the budding agitation in his voice while Sally rummaged through her luggage.  
"Yes," Howl replied, adding swiftly:  
"But we won't be far apart, and you won't be going alone. Trill will be with you every step of the way, and if you get stuck, she'll relay to me at once and I'll come over to you.  
I know, I know... it's a risk. But I promise it's only a temporary one, and whatever chances of danger there are for you, they're nothing comparable to the danger of you being found by those recent-captives down below. You'll just need-"  
But he broke off as his eyes registered the large sheet of paper Sally had spread out on the ground before her.  
Even with it viewed from an upside-down angle, it seemed that Howl knew the map of their continent well enough to be frustrated at the wild inaccuracy of it. With nary a word, he snatched it up from the ground and stared at it, his stare transforming into a gradual, narrow-eyed glare.  
" _ **This**_?" he barked, and if he had spoken through the tongue, droplets would no doubt have flown from his maw from the force of his speech.  
"This is the map humans have of our land?! Did you buy this one on sale or something?!"  
"No?" Sally replied, "Why? Is it... wrong?"  
" ** _Wrong_**..." he grumbled, reminding the two more than ever of a disdainful and vitriolic elder, "It's almost totally blank is what it is! And where it isn't blank, it's either exaggerated or blatantly false - it's less a map and more a boredom-induced doodle!"  
"Oh," she replied flatly, controlling her expression, "Oh dear."  
He gave the map a last spiteful glance before thrusting it back towards her, and she retrieved it calmly as he shook his head wearily, gathering himself.  
"We did buy notepads if that helps?" she said, "we could trace the map on those?"  
He nodded, still not meeting their eyes and swept away half of the map he had drawn in the soil, leaving out only what was relevant to their course, and she copied it to the best of her ability, though when the thought of them travelling separately from their protector forced its way to the surface of her pool of thoughts, she couldn't prevent the tremor in her hands.

Then, without the slightest sound, sense or sight in warning, a high scream from below shattered the silence, followed by the crack and burst of Moves.

Howl leapt to his feet as if he had been crouched in waiting the whole time, his blazing glare turned to pinpoint the direction of the cry while the humans struggled to gather their wits.

They hastened to his side at the lip of the ridge and saw to their horror the entire camp of escaped Pokémon surrounded by a militia of a single species Howl couldn't identify.  
The escapee Pokémon were backing into a tight circle and holding all the ground their frail Moves could command, but the assailants were not approaching swiftly, and as a Move made to connect with them, they either smacked the Moves aside with arms suffused in the teal-hued light of a Water-Type Move, or they would...  
Howl blinked at first when he saw the alternative:  
As a lance of flame shot out from Charizard on the left side of the circle towards the antagonist Pokémon, Howl thought at first for the Move to have found its mark; but no sooner had the flames dispersed, then the attacker had reappeared again in the empty patch of grass, dousing it in a splash of water upon its inexplicable return.

He wasted not a second longer;  
Signalling his clients to remain where they were stationed, he leapt forward into the air, arrived at the angular wall leading him to the grass and hooked his claws into the cold stone, slowing his momentum until his feet found solid ground and he ducked down among the blades of grass, concentrating with all his heart on his Aura Senses.  
A prism of different Aura-colours fell upon his closed eyes and as he focused from one to the other.  
He noticed two of the approaching Pokémon halt in their tracks, realising in the same instant what had made them do so.  
With a soft rumble followed by a clatter of stone, Drilbur and Bunnelby exploded out of the ground directly beneath their individual quarry, both of whom reacted with the reflexes of an Electric-Type, launching themselves into the air mere inches above the two Ground-Types, who were so astonished - as their Auras clearly indicated - by their attacks being evaded that they were simply unaware of the webbed fingers clamping around them until they were pinioned on the cold earth again.  
Panic swept like an ocean wave over the remaining escapees, but before it could escalate further and drench them in icy fear, just as Howl had broke into a crouching run towards one of the Ground-Type's restraints, Force Palm at the ready, an unfamiliar voice bellowed out high and clear above the commotion:  
"You IDIOTS!  
What are you doing?! This wasn't part of the plan! I told you to wait-"  
The voice fell short however, for its speaker had sensed something, and rightly, for half a second later, Howl had leapt out from his concealment and made to bring the full might of Force Palm crashing down upon the one of the Water-Type assailants, but the owner of the commanding voice sprang forwards through the air to intercept him, and together they collided only to fall apart upon the ground, each of their numerous companions shuffling away from them as they fell.  
Of the two of them, the first to rise was Howl, and the acting commander of the Water-Types - a female Ninetales - only had enough time to look up before Howl was crashing into her with Extreme Speed, carrying her through the air and shoving her body hard against the racing ground beneath their trajectory, scattering grass and earth in their wake - but before the two had even slowed in their momentum, she had coiled six of her nine tails around his ankles and kicked him in the middle with all four legs, finally dislodging him, and each of them coming to an unsteady rest many feet from their respective groups.

The two scrambled to their feet with almost identical speed, and the Ninetales prepared to launch the ranged Move Flamethrower, but to her shock, she found the Lucario sprinting towards her with such swiftness that she was forced to clutch the searing flames between her maw and backflip to evade his strike, soaring in a graceful arc and raising her head halfway to spit the Move down in the midst of her retreat.  
Howl managed to duck beneath the onslaught and grab ahold of her airborne foreleg, twisting round to hurl his foe straight into the high rock structure they had arrived beside.  
The Ninetales' mind was a torrent of thought and excitement, but her inner voice was quiet and collected as she managed to catch herself on the rock structure and bounce lightly off it to the ground.  
'Wow...' she thought amidst the chaos, ' _ **Wow**_...! This one is **_aggressive_**...!'  
Not wasting time for him to continue his onslaught, she lunged in his direction for a counter-attack, deciding;  
'Well, in that case, I'll bet your defences must be poor enough for me to-'  
-but at that, the kick she had swung from her hind-legs in another graceful backflip was deflected by a black paw before her thought even reached its close.  
'Oh,' she concluded, 'Alright - his defences are just as good as... as...'  
Her crimson eye saw a speeding fist and she ducked, exhaling yet another Flamethrower in a great lance from her maw, forcing the Lucario to leap out of harm and chuck an Aura Sphere after her.  
By this point, the Ninetales had begun to read his attack pattern, however; and made sure that when she evaded his explosive Aura Sphere, the direction she leapt in was of that towards the attacker himself, and her guess rang true, for as she whirled round to strike with her most powerful Move, Howl had closed the distance between them at the first chance he'd been offered, and in the air between the two his combined Force Palms met with her Flare Blitz, and a mighty explosion of the colliding forces sent each combatant hurtling backwards through the air and bouncing, rolling, skidding and dragging along the earth until they rested feet apart, each of them struggling with tremulous limbs to regain their footing before the other.

Finally Howl managed to raise his head, and found the Ninetales to raise her own a mere fraction of an instant after he had done so himself. The two stood apart, gazing at each other with stiffened, tensed bodies, each of them breathing heavily from their lightning-swift exchange of blows, yet neither of them sporting so much as a bruise.

Howl's mind was in a sudden veil of uncertainty; he thought he had recognised the Move his Force Palms had intercepted. Not merely the Move itself, but the peculiar technique with which it had been unleashed...  
Meanwhile across from him, the Ninetales had at last reached the end of her trail of thought in the midst of their chaotic battle.  
'Just as good as... _**mine**_ ,' she pondered. But surely it did not mean... how could it be possible?  
These thoughts raced across both their minds at the precisely same moment, each only made aware of their shared feelings when they met each-other's gaze plainly for the first time.

The Lucario glared at the Ninetales.  
The Ninetales stared back with quivering lips parted.

Then the Ninetales swallowed back the lump in her throat, recovered her wits and spoke in a voice that rang clear even to the motionless onlookers,  
"You're good... very good.  
...Who was your teacher?"

Howl gave his answer in the way he had been taught to. He rolled his shoulders once and braced his stance again, allowing the glow of his navy-blue Aura to envelop his raised fists.

To the spectators' unanimous surprise; the Ninetales seemed to have been anticipating this; for each of them saw her many tails give a brief, cautious wiggle of happiness, and Howl saw a phantom smile curve her muzzle.  
"Not giving me any information, huh?" she asked, "You were trained by a guild, weren't you?"  
Howl's burning Aura flickered and withdrew a slight while the tension of his stance waned, mirroring his hesitation.

The Ninetales' stance had dropped in its entirety, and she seemed to have merely woken from slumber for all the tension she displayed.  
She crooked her head to the side and flashed him a kindly smile as she took a single, deliberate step closer.  
Her smile was met with a blazing glare, and Howl's stance returned with all its tension intact, accompanied by the owner's continued silence.  
'He won't answer any of my questions...' the Ninetales perused, 'and he's not dropping his guard...  
Yeah... that checks out.  
But... he can't really be...  
There's no way. It's _**not possible**_.'  
She drew a deep, slow breath to steady her nerves and continued,  
"I'm a Guild-Mon too, Lucario... or rather... I was one.  
If you're the real deal... then you should be able to finish these quotes for me, just like in our procedure.  
'One: Don't shirk...'"

Doubt crept into Howl's posture as the words met his ears, and this time they showed no signs of vanishing.  
The Ninetales repeated:  
"'Don't shirk...'"  
-and finally the Lucario found his voice again, answering;  
"'Don't shirk work'."  
The Ninetales' tails began to wag with fervour, but she kept her expression controlled as she offered another test:  
"'Run away and'..."  
"'Run away and pay'."  
She swallowed, and felt her pulse speed before proceeding to the final test.  
"And... the third one? The... unofficial third quote of the morning routine?  
Does that... ring any bells?"  
Howl gaped, then he too steadied himself, struggled briefly to recall the quote that Guildmaster Wigglytuff had struggled vainly to convince other guilds to add to their own morning cheers that their recruits were made to call, and upon the notion unanimous refusal - just as Chatot had predicted - Wigglytuff had exorcised his frustration by forcing his own Guild-Mon to include the third quote for months there onwards until one morning he had simply forgotten the whole ordeal, and not a single recruit had seen fit to remind him of it.  
Howl gathered his thoughts as if arranging a jigsaw of his memory, beginning vaguely:  
"'S-Smiles'- ah...  
'Smiles'..."  
Then, abruptly, his eyes and the Ninetales' met, and they shared a look before she nodded, as if in encouragement, before they finished the unofficial, but unforgettable quote in unison:

"'Smiles go for miles'."

They stared at each-other across the short distance from which they stood, he feeling his Aura recede without any input from him, she letting her tails wag without a modicum of restraint, and each of them feeling their legs steer them towards one-another, slowly, tentatively, perusing their former-foe in a new light.  
Then, only about five feet apart, he saw steam rising from her cheeks, scalded by the white-hot tears flowing down them.  
Then, in a moment of uncharacteristic loss of control, the Ninetales blurted out in a single hoarse breath:  
"It _**is**_ you!  
Howl!  
Oh, **_Howl_**!"  
-and she sprang forwards, wrapping her front legs around his neck and careening him down to the earth in a choking gasp.  
Had the Ninetales not cried his name a mere second before, and he would have thought their battle to have resumed all of a sudden, but as he felt her Fire-Type tears scalding his own flesh and subconsciously gasped from the sharp, searing pain of it, he felt a light scent waft into his nose.  
A familiar scent.  
One he could hardly believe to find himself experiencing again after so many years.  
"Pah-..." he croaked, struggling to see the face of the half-remembered girl, "Pyra...? Pyra, is that... you?"  
The sobs rattled her and shook even further blazing tears from her, and her tails began to wag in such a frenzy that he found himself blessing the fact that the sun was not in their line of obscurity.  
Some distance away, the spectators all found themselves feeling suddenly bashful, some even letting out half-stifled sounds of disgust or outrage, for all their eyes could find were the wildly-waving tails of the girl named Pyra, the occasional outward-reaching arm of Howl, and the rest entirely submerged in the sea of green blades but for their voices overflowing with emotion, sometimes with a barely articulate sound instead of a completed word, and so it continued until at last Howl gave a rather undignified yelp and snarl of;  
"No, Pyra - NO! No nuzzling!"  
-then two forearms firmly clasping her at the shoulders and the two of them returned above the surface, each of their sleek fur coats matted and covered in dust, though the Ninetales' tails still wagged and beat at the earth without a care in the world, despite the factor of her needing to be held at bay.  
Their gazes swept over one-another time and again, for this was the first they had seen of one-another in so very long a time, and Howl couldn't repress a shudder as he saw how the years of struggle had fared upon Pyra;  
Her muzzle was above average in length, just as he remembered it being when she had been a Vulpix, her thick, lustrous fur coat kept the sleekest and cleanest of all the Guild Pokémon he had known glaring almost as bright as the sun itself under its heavenward glare.  
But in stark contrast to both that and his memory, her right ear was crooked from a slash that had rent through it, and he saw that her left forepaw was missing its innermost toe.  
He wondered with horror just how many scars her fur concealed across her being, just as his did...  
"It's really you...!" she breathed, "You're alive! I... I can't believe it! Howl...!"  
"You took the words right out of my mouth!" he responded, "I'd heard that the recruits were sent out to protect the escaping townsfolk, but... to see you here!  
Where are the others?! Turtwig and Wartortle and Char-"  
-but Pyra cut across him sharply,  
"The escaping-? Wait! Wait, so... some of Treasure Town survived?!"  
"Wh-..."  
Howl's voice had flittered to such depths of breathlessness that he could not even form the word to express his incredulity.  
Close as she was to his face, however, there was no need for him to do so, and her tails began to slow and droop until it was almost a challenge for them to meet each-other's gaze.  
"I..." she explained, "I wasn't there... I wasn't in town. I'd been sent out on a solo mission. Chatot gave it to me as punishment for-  
...Just punishment.  
I was sent to the Crystalline Caverns. You remember - up in the north? Yeah?  
Then... when I finally got outta there with the client... we had no idea what had happened. We knew that _**something**_ was wrong - the sky had never gone **_that_** kind of red before, but...  
But the guild! You said that some recruits were 'sent'?! Like they were given orders?! Were you there?! What-..." her voice too gave out as she saw his expression.  
"I..." he murmured, "Pyra... you... you weren't... you're not... with them..."

A silence passed between them, for only a minute, but to them it felt like ten.  
They traded a curious glance with one-another; one that was filled with uncertainty yet simultaneous expectancy, with Pyra expecting Howl to reassure her with knowledge she already knew in her heart, and with him expecting her to assure him of the same thing, and they would each feel comfort in the other's assertions.  
They opened their mouths to speak, but stopped as soon as the other began, and found themselves mirroring one-another's expressions and shared in an awkward smile.

Then, finally, a harsh, elder voice bellowed from the gathering and shattered their reverie:  
"What in the actual _**blazes**_ are you two doing?! This is not the place for such behaviour, in public, right before children's eyes as well! Were you never taught to-"  
-and as Charizard flew all too easily into a loud, angry rant that was utterly inaudible to the two, they explained who their company was, Howl telling his side of the story first.  
Pyra answered:  
"They're all with me, these Water-Types."  
"I've never seen Pokémon like them before..."  
"Well, that's sorta their deal. They're called Greninja. They prefer to live and train in the company of their own kind. It took some persuasion, but these guys are following my orders for the time being."  
"What? But they're Water-Type and you're... How-?"  
"It's a bit of a long one, I'm afraid. I'll tell you later, now is not the place. Their hidden village is about a half-hour's walk from here. They won't let any of 'em live there, but if your group is well enough for the trip, we can all go together and I'll see if I can talk deal with these pompous so-and-so's..."  
"That sounds... Pyra... That would be incredible. I-I don't know what..."  
They felt even their ears quiver at the volume with which Charizard scolded them now, and exchanging a last, fleeting smile, Howl leaned forward, steering them both to their feet, but he had barely placed a sole foot down to stand up with when Pyra suddenly leaned in close, her good paw at his shoulder and whispered softly into his ear,  
"By the way...  
I like your evolved form..."  
-and Howl felt his fur bristle and his face flush hotly as she placed a phantom kiss on his cheek before releasing her hold and leading him towards their respective groups, her tails stood erect and lightly wagging with her concealed merriment.  
He touched the spot lightly with his paw, stupefied for a minute, letting his wits return on their own before he got up to approach in her stead as she busily handed out orders to her Greninja followers, directing half to check on the escapees' condition, whether there were any injured or who needed food, and Howl reassured them with brief, clear explanations so that they were trusting enough to allow themselves to be treated.  
Under the cover of the many conversing voices, he managed to mention to an idle bystander he had to reclaim luggage, located Trill the Pidgey and, with a surreptitious telepathic whisper and point, hastened back up the slope towards his human companions before anyone could call him back.

It was only a slight rearrangement of their original plans, and thus it took no more than five or ten minutes to explain to them; now instead of the alternate path that they had meticulously traced into their own notebooks, they were to follow behind the Pokémon directly with the guidance of Trill, who could disappear every so often among the clouds without anyone noticing in order to locate and instruct the humans.  
Though Sally and Rowan both pestered him with questions as to who these newcomers were and exactly where it was they were being lead to, he simply shook his head at their demands and responded by assuring them he would not allow harm to befall them during or after this sudden detour.  
Then, at a raised voice from the grounds below, he snatched up the sack from the cave of two days prior, still torn, battered and with only a handful of fruits to be salvaged from its depths, and hurried back alongside Trill to meet the call.

Their course, just as Pyra had claimed it would, did not take them far from the little pond. They were lead by their silent, stoic Greninja guides through a little cluster of woods down the mountain slope, and soon, with no clear catalyst for the shift, they turned abruptly to the side, leading them westward along a ridge in the mountain, with solid wall on their left, and a drop of fathomless depth on their right.  
It took some persuasion, but they managed to get the group moving again after this mild pothole in their otherwise smooth journey.  
After the initial hesitance, however, the escapees came to a complete standstill when their course began to ring with the sound of crashing water. Howl and Pyra had been submerged in their own talk at that point, and to the entire group's surprise, it was the Fire-Type herself who ended up soothing and reassuring their onslaught of waterfall-related fears. With the sound of the crashing deluge only a few minutes away, and the sound of the flowing rivers far beneath them, she stood to face them, her calm, sardonic gaze and words full of sincerity enough to reach even the seething Charizard, who had unsurprisingly been among the loudest of the rebellious voices.  
So, Pyra had turned away, her tails erect and trotting happily onward as if there had been no interruption and continued her conversation to Howl as the raging waters grew steadily louder:  
"So I saw they were in trouble and ran in to help. Y'know, just like we were trained to do."  
"You didn't think that the humans may have caught a Feral?" Howl asked, "A Feral that would have been anything but grateful to you for saving them?"  
"Oh, I considered that, but... well, it wasn't like I had any other end goal or desired locations to occupy me, you know? I wasn't just gonna walk away from what I'd seen. So I went in, sent the humans home, snagged their captive and made our way outta there before more trouble showed up. I treated the little fella's injuries and when he finally woke up, he answered that he was a Froakie, that he'd gone swimming too far in the river and had gotten swept up by the current, and remembered getting battered about before landing finally on the shore and losing consciousness."  
"Where he was discovered and captured by roaming monster hunters," said Howl grimly.  
" _ **we-e-ell**_..." the Ninetales responded, "Yes and no. That **_is_** how he got caught so easily, but honestly, I don't think they were monster hunters. Nah, they were too clumsy."  
"Villagers, then? That would explain-"  
"No, not them neither. They had metal on their bodies like the ones that stand guard around towns, but they didn't look like guards to me. They had these emblems on their capes as if they wanted to stand out somehow."  
"Emblems? Like what? Pyra-"  
"Ohh, who cares?" she admonished with a familiar airy grin, "Like I said they were very flimsy. You shoulda' seen 'em, Howl; one look at me and they all bunched up together and made it all too easy for me to beat them with just one shot of Flamethrower! They're old news."  
Howl was not altogether convinced, but had not the time to dwell on it, for Pyra continued brusquely,  
"Before I'd even asked him where his home was, the little one started blubbing and asking me which way his mountain was, and I told him all about our guild's code and promised I'd take him to where we're going right now.  
'Course, he didn't understand a lot of what I'd said about being from a guild and all, but it sounded impressive, and that's all he needed to...  
Ohpe!"  
She stopped abruptly so that Howl almost bumped into her and came alarmingly close to losing his footing completely.  
"We're here!" she announced happily, as if oblivious to his narrowly-missed plummet down the side of the ridge.  
The Ninetales turned her gaze towards their two Greninja escorts and said,  
"Boys, if you please?"  
To Howl's silent bemusement, the looks they returned to her were of the deepest irritation, and even contempt from one, but they took her at her word and leapt across the point at which their path came to a sudden halt, soaring as if weightless through the saturated air towards the great wall across from the gap where the great clamouring waterfall had finally come into view.  
The two Greninja grasped invisible leverages on the solid stone wall with their webbed fingers looking as though they had practically stuck onto its flat, smooth sheen, and from either side of the great expanse of descending water, the two Greninja moved together, one launching himself into the flow of water, arms enveloped in teal light and held before him, shielding him from the deluge and splitting the fall into two separate currents, exposing the wall behind its veil, and onto this wall the second Greninja sprang, holding himself fast onto points that Howl couldn't even locate.  
He made a mental note to ask the curious Pokémon at the first chance he got just how they executed the technique.  
The second Greninja drew back his right arm, suffusing it in the teal light of its Type before it brought the arm down upon the smooth wall.  
It did this again, and once more, and Howl realised it to be a rhythmic knock of the same kind Guild-Mon used in code.  
The Greninja knocked loudly on the wall once, thrice, twice, and then fell still, waiting.

Then the reply came almost at once, though they could hardly hear it over the rushing water.  
The reply imitated the frequency of the original speaker's; once, thrice, twice and then falling silent in turn.

Then the Greninja replied with twice, thrice, thrice again, and finally a last, singular knock upon the wall.  
Then there came a loud crunch, and the patch of wall seemed to shift, and before they could register that properly, the two Greninja had leapt away from the waterfall and joined them back atop the ridge, watching without comment as the patch of wall seemed to retreat a mere inch, then slid sideways into the wall as a long, wide plank of oak was slid out from the opening for the Greninja to catch ahold of and place firmly on the ridge, creating a perfect means for them all to cross into the surface of the mountain.

"Right this way, everyone," called Pyra, happily taking the lead once more and not batting an ear as she drew closer and closer to the onslaught of water.  
Howl followed after her, but not before saying swiftly,  
"Trill, can you-?"  
"I'm on it, Howl!" replied the little, quiet voice from his shoulder, and with a scurry of wingbeats she took to the air before any could notice her.  
Howl tried to enter the cave swiftly, but was unable to prevent his fur being doused all the same, and awaiting him on the other side was a Greninja who seemed older than the two who had entered before him; his blue skin darker, his eyes more cloudy and posture stooped ever so slightly. Nevertheless, his expression was every bit as contemptuous as he glared from him, to the other Pokémon entering across the bridge, and at last to the Ninetales, who was still rigorously shaking her fur all over and exhaling wafts of heated air onto the patches of it her muzzle could reach.  
"What... is _**this**_?" the elder Greninja asked, addressing the Fire-Type, "This was never part of our arrangement. The very fact that we allowed your presence among us ought to have been more than enough, we would have thought..."  
"They're just **_visiting_** , Marsh," replied Pyra scathingly, "They need a place to rest and restock, they're not here to stay... I know the rules."  
The Greninja named Marsh shook his head wearily, saying,  
"The others won't accept this, Pyra... they're unhappy enough with you as it is. You realise that this will be the last straw for many, and you will not be allowed to return...!"  
"Just doing my job, old Mon," she said coldly, "Surely the others aren't so obtuse as to rebuke me for that."  
The two who had escorted them shot angered looks in her direction, but the eldest merely continued to shake his head disapprovingly as she turned away and shouldered past the escort Greninja and descended the carved stone steps beyond them, calling for her clients to follow as she did so.  
"I wouldn't be in your position, little lady," called Marsh solemnly, "Not for a chance to spar with the Elders, I wouldn't be in your position..."  
Pyra met his statement without a look, without a word, without a thought.  
Howl hastened to her side, intent on asking her to elaborate all that they had heard, but before he could, she had manipulated the flames within her being to burn brightly across her paws and the tips of her tails, and Howl followed suit, enveloping his own body in Aura just as a sound met their ears from within the depths; the sound of the smallest of trickling streams, accompanied by a gentle, rhythmic tapping every half-minute.  
"They're made from bamboo," said Pyra in answer to his unspoken inquiry,  
"They call them water timers.  
We're almost at the village now, Howl...  
Almost there..."


End file.
